Days after Shaktisinh Gohil resigned as the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president owning moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the recent Visavadar and Kadi Assembly bypolls, a slew of the party’s Patidar faces have demanded that a leader from their community be named the new GPCC chief.
At least 28 Patidar leaders from the Congress, including several former MLAs and MPs, met at a farmhouse in Ahmedabad on July 1, following which ex-MP Virji Thummar wrote to Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over their demand.
The meeting concluded that as the Congress has long “sidelined” Patidars in its Gujarat politics, the appointment of a Patidar leader at the helm of the GPCC would boost the party’s prospects in the state, sources said. Some leaders claimed that “a section of Patidars is not very happy with the ruling BJP, so they could return to the Congress if the party gives its leadership to a Patidar face”, sources said.
In the post-Narendra Modi period in Gujarat, the Congress put up its best performance in the 2017 Assembly elections on the back of the Patidar quota agitation led by Hardik Patel.
Patidars, listed in the general category, are considered a politically-influential community in Gujarat, given their numerical strength as well as dominance in several major sectors including agriculture, trade and education. The community forms the core of the BJP support base in the state. Their alliance however came under severe strain during Patidars’ 2015-17 stir demanding that the community be put in the OBC category and be extended the attendant benefits of reservation in government jobs and education.
In the 2017 polls, the Congress won 77 of 182 seats while the BJP’s tally plunged to just 99 seats. In the 2022 polls, however, the BJP regained the Patidar community’s support, registering its best-ever performance by bagging 156 seats against the Congress’s 17. The current BJP’s Chief Minister is a Patidar face Bhupendra Patel.
The Gujarat Congress has mostly been headed by the OBC leaders, its last Patidar president being Siddharth Patel, son of ex-CM late Chimanbhai Patel, who held the post during 2008-10. The tallest Patidar leader to hold the post and for the longest period was its first president Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who remained the GPCC president from its inception in 1920 until 1946.
The last time a Patidar leader held a key Congress position in Gujarat was during 2018-2021 when Paresh Dhanani served as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader.
The July 1 meeting of the Congress’s Patidar leaders lasted for three hours, with the attendees including Virji Thummar, ex MLAs Lalit Vasoya, Lalit Kathagra, Gitaben Patel and Pratap Dudhat, ex-Mahila Morcha chief and Virji Thummar’s daughter Jenny Thummar, among others. Senior Patidar leaders such as Siddharth Patel, Paresh Dhanani, and Ashok Adhewada, gave the meeting a miss due to “personal and social reasons”. Sources said the invitation was extended to 34 Patidar leaders of the state Congress, of whom 28 attended the meeting.
In his letter to Rahul Gandhi, Virji, former Amreli MP, stated: “We are seeking an appointment with you to discuss the present situation of Congress in Gujarat and how the caste equation and balance are much needed… for the better performance of the party in the upcoming elections (and) for a more inclusive party politics. Please accept our proposal and call us soon for a meeting.”
Talking to The Indian Express, Virji said, “In the July 1 meeting, it was discussed how the Congress could get the Patidar community’s support back, which was earlier a strong vote bank of the party. We concluded that if the Congress appoints a Patidar leader as the GPCC chief, the community could get reconnected to the party. There are over 11% Patidar voters in Gujarat. Patidars are financially strong, and other castes also support them. The community is very unhappy with the present BJP. If the community is given respect by making one of their leaders as GPCC president, we are sure they would return to the Congress.”
Virji also said, “Before writing the letter to Rahul Gandhi, I called up AICC’s observer for Gujarat Mukul Wasnik and shared the conclusion of our community leaders’ meeting… Wasnik said he has sent our meeting proposal to Gandhi.”
Lalit Vasoya, ex-Dhoraji MLA, told The Indian Express: “The GPCC president’s post is lying vacant now and no Patidar has been chosen for it for a long time. So why can’t we seize the opportunity and make our case to Rahul Gandhi.”
Paresh Dhanani said, “The Congress should appoint such a leader as the GPCC chief who is affiliated to the party’s ideology. In Gujarat, political leaders indulge in casteism and communalism, but the voters do not believe in them. Patidars have been left out from the posts of GPCC president and LoP (CLP leader) in Gujarat for a long time, barring the stints of Siddharthbhai Patel and me.”
He also said, “In the 2017 elections, the Congress secured 77 seats, largely due to the Patidar quota movement, which had spread across the state. Patidars were unhappy with the BJP, so they backed the Congress. The Patidar votes are influential in 106 seats, which include 33 seats where the Patidar candidates from different parties contest against each other. If a Patidar is made the GPCC chief, it would impact the state’s political equations and benefit the Congress.”
Jenny Thummar said the July 1 meeting focused on regaining the Patidar votes for the Congress. “The party appointed 41 DCC chiefs, of whom seven are Patidars. Our meeting discussed ways to support them and strengthen the Congress organisation. A key point was how a Patidar GPCC chief would bolster the party.”