2017 magic of Hardik, Alpesh, Jignesh missing this time

The troika of Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakor, which gave a momentum to Congress in last Gujarat Assembly polls, seems somewhat missing in action in the state this time as the mother of all elections 2019 Lok Sabha polls is underway.

This could have a cascading effect on the fortunes of Congress in a state where the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi evokes awe and kicks up sentiments of Gujarati pride.

In nearly a year-and-a-half, the trio has changed themselves into full-time politicians. Hardik joined Congress only last month while, Alpesh and Jignesh were elected legislators in December 2017 polls, Thakor as a Congress candidate from Radhanpur in Patan district while Jignesh, with help of Congress, won as an independent candidate from Vadgam in Banaskantha.

Since their elections, Jignesh after initial political activism in his region has remained away from the ground, while Alpesh kept Congress in state of confusion. Alpesh burnt his fingers during mass attacks on north Indian migrant workers following a rape of a minor girl in Sabarkantha district of north Gujarat, where he held sway.

Under severe criticism for inciting local sentiments against outsiders, the Congress gave him charge of Bihar to assist his senior Shaktisinh Gohil. Since then, Alpesh’s decline started. The ambitious leader, after keeping low profile for a while, sought a bigger role. Meanwhile, reports on him joining BJP never quite died down.

It was reported that he was negotiating with the BJP for a ministerial berth or Lok Sabha seat ticket for his wife from Patan or Banaskantha Lok Sabha seats, which was not realised. Amid these reports, factionalism started emerging in his outfit Thakor Sena and eventually, Alpesh resigned when campaigning for Lok Sabha contest approached.

Hardik, on the other hand, suffered a major jolt after his attempt to contest Lok Sabha election failed due to legal hurdles. The 25-year-old leader, however, has held marathon election rallies across the state as a star campaigner. But his joining Congress hasn’t gone down well among Patidar community, especially among youth who supported him during reservation agitation.

Jignesh has remained busy promoting Communist Party of India leader Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai in Bihar and joined campaign in Gujarat barely a week before the polls. He has held couple of rallies in areas dominated by Scheduled Castes to favour Congress candidates. In spite of some protests in Gujarat, which goes to polls on April 23 for 26 seats, Hardik continues to be a threat to BJP which is eyeing a repeat its performance in the 2014 polls when it won all the seats.

Party insiders believe that Hardik’s impact will be seen on Amreli and Porbandar seats.