Even as the BJP maintained its grip over Gujarat, its biggest loss this state Assembly election was perhaps losing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hometown, Vadnagar, to Congress.
Vadnagar is divided into two constituencies — Kheralu and Modi's home district Unjha.
Although BJP won in Kheralu, Asha Patel from the Congress broke the BJP spell and won by a margin of around 19,000 votes in Unjha, defeatingt BJP's five-time MLA Narayan Patel. In fact, in 2012, Narayan Patel had defeated Asha Patel by nearly 25,000 votes.
The reason behind the fall from great heights can be traced back to the discontentment of Patidars over demands of reservation. The Patidars, who used to be the backbone of the BJP, constitute 70 percent of Unjha's population.
The Patidars comprise 12 percent of the state’s population and hold sway over 60-odd seats.
According to The Indian Express, one of the nine dalits who died in the agitation was from Unjha. Moreover, the area also saw a massive destruction of public property. The town was also one of the worst hit areas after the outbreak of the Patidar quota agitation in 2015, leading to a decline in BJP’s popularity in the Modi’s hometown. In fact the BJP didn't field any candidate in the 2015 civic polls.
In an interview conducted in 2015, Narayan Patel had told The Indian Express, “Even if, somebody wanted to fight elections on party symbol, he or she faced immense pressure from the family and the community not to fight on a BJP ticket. People said that they wanted to show BJP this time… We have fielded at least 30 candidates, but without giving them a label (of BJP).”
Utilising the discontent of the Patidars to the Congress' advantage, its chief Rahul Gandhi campaigned extensively in Vadnagar, aggressively criticising Modi government policies on employment, farmer distress and corruption within the BJP.
He also visited Unjha’s Umiya Mata temple, the seat of the reigning deity of the Kadva Patidars.
Narendra Modi campaigned arduously in Gujarat to fortify the presence of his party, but this election he couldn’t win over the fellow citizens of his hometown.
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