JOIN USIn diamond city Surat, AAP is in direct contest with BJP
Sandip Nakrani, 32, is a broker at Surat's famed diamond market at Mini Bazar in Varachha, a locality dominated by the Patidar community. A ruling BJP supporter, Nakrani says, "Overall, I think BJP is going to win the state but Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is giving a tough fight to BJP at Varachha seat at least." Nakrani, a Patidar, believes that "BJP is needed to be taught a lesson for not doing away with reservation."
Close to the Mini Bazar, where a statue of Sardar Patel is installed, 65-year-old Dhanjibhai, who sells clothes in the open by the roadside, has a similar opinion, "Gujarat me toh BJP ki hi sarkar banegi lekin Varachha me AAP aayegi kyunki log badlav chahte hain (BJP will form the government in Gujarat again but AAP is winning the Varachha seat, because people want change)."
Varachha is among the 12 Assembly seats in Surat city. There are four other seats in the district. In 2017, the BJP won 15 of them while Congress bagged just one. It was Surat that is said to have pulled out the ruling BJP from the cusp of defeat. Despite the anger from Patidar reservation agitation, demonetisation and widespread complaints by the trading community over GST implementation, Surat chose BJP and rejected Congress.
Five years later, Congress seems to be out of the race even as a principal challenger to BJP on seats such as Varachha, Katargam, Karanj, Kamrej and Olpad Assembly seats. Here, it is AAP that, many voters said, has a better chance of winning than Congress.
Even in constituencies like Surat (north), about a half-an-hour drive from Varachha, part of "original Surat city", AAP has made inroads. Jagruti Surati in Mahidharpura, the oldest diamond trading centre in Surat, has made up her mind to vote for AAP. "Kejriwalji invited our community person to have dinner in Delhi. This is a big deal for sanitation workers like me. Nobody from BJP or Congress gave us that much respect. I am voting for him for sure," Jagruti told DH.
Similarly, Abid Ali Syed, a 49-year-old autorickshaw driver, was of the opinion that "Congress is out of the picture from Surat". "I will vote for Kejriwal for he is an educated man who is talking about free electricity, education and health. We all know that AAP is in no position to form the government but at least they will be an effective opposition than the Congress."
As a matter of fact, Surat holds the key to AAP's rise in Gujarat political arena. It tasted its first success in 2021 when it bagged 27 seats in the municipal corporation polls. Kejriwal's party became the chief opposition party after Congress drew a blank. Although BJP's tally increased, it miffed the party to see AAP replacing Congress. This is what seems to be playing out in the Assembly polls.
The win in corporation polls is largely attributed to Patidar leaders who supported AAP in the last moment after Congress failed to strike a deal. The Patidar leadership, who were part of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), which took out the Patidar agitation, is also behind AAP's Assembly poll campaign. AAP candidates including its Gujarat president Gopal Italia (Katargam), state general secretary Manoj Sorathiya (Karanj), Alpesh Kathiriya (Varachha), Dharmik Malaviya (Olpad), among others, were part of Hardik Patel-led PAAS. Hardik is with BJP contesting from Viramgam for the first time.
However, BJP is confident that Surat will reject AAP even in these five seats. "From September, the election touring season starts and by December, such tourists disappear. What I mean is that people of Gujarat have always rejected a third front and this year, too, is not different,” said minister of state for home, Harsh Sanghavi, told DH at his office in City Light and sitting MLA from Majura constituency in Surat.
While BJP candidates are reaching out to people on the promises of development, Hindutva as well as Narendra Modi, AAP is selling the "Delhi Model" of free electricity, schools and health beside Arvind Kejriwal's "padha-likha" image. Alpesh Kathiriya, addressing one of the rallies in Varachha would tell votes, "They (BJP) will talk about Musalman-Pakistan but we don't have to get carried away. We have to fight for change, for better a future."