New Delhi: The turnout in the first phase of the Gujarat elections on Saturday was 68 per cent, falling a few pegs short of the 71 per cent recorded in the 2012 Assembly elections. Of the total 182 seats, 89 went to polls in the first phase. The remaining 93 seats would go to the polls on December 14. Out of the 89 seats located in Saurashtra, South Gujarat and Kutch, at least 60 are dominated by the Patidar community, which has since the 2015 quota agitation turned against the BJP.
Election Commission data showed that constituencies dominated by Patels like Morbi, Ankleshwar, Surat, Botad and Navsari saw a turnout of nearly 75 per cent. While this can be an indication of electoral manifestation of the Patidar anger against the ruling BJP, it is important to remember that a similar revolt by BJP veteran Keshubhai Patel in 2012 had turned into a damp squib. While his Gujarat Parivartan Par-ty bagged two seats in Saurashtra, the BJP had romped home with 33 and the Congress 13.
This time, Mr Hardik Patel, who led the demand for reservation for his community has openly declared his support for the Congress. The Congress has banked heavily on the troika of angry young men of Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mevani, leaders of the Patidar, OBC and Dalit communities. The BJP has said that the alliance between the OBCs and the Patels is self-contradictory as the two communities would be competing for quota benefits with each other. Union finance minister and BJP Gujarat incharge Arun Jaitley told reporters in Ahmedabad on Saturday that the BJP would have a “landslide victory”. “The BJP estimates that we will not only get a comfortable but a landslide win. In most places people of all sections have supported us,” he said.
