NewsBytes
    Hindi Tamil Telugu
    More
    In the news
    Shashi Tharoor
    Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
    Arvind Kejriwal
    Mamata Banerjee
    Nitin Gadkari
    Rahul Gandhi
    Indian National Congress (INC)
    NewsBytes
    Hindi Tamil Telugu
    NewsBytes
    User Placeholder

    Hi,

    Logout


    India Business World Politics Sports Technology Entertainment Auto Lifestyle Inspirational Career Bengaluru Delhi Mumbai Visual Stories Find Cricket Statistics Phones Reviews Fitness Bands Reviews Speakers Reviews

    Download Android App

    Follow us on
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
     
    Home / News / Politics News / With historic mandate, BJP regains support of 'Patidars' in Gujarat
    Politics

    With historic mandate, BJP regains support of 'Patidars' in Gujarat

    With historic mandate, BJP regains support of 'Patidars' in Gujarat
    Written by Prateek Talukdar
    Dec 09, 2022, 04:12 pm 3 min read
    With historic mandate, BJP regains support of 'Patidars' in Gujarat
    The Patidar community largely supported Congress in 2017 Assembly elections, which bagged 77 seats for the party, while the BJP got 99

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win back the support of the Patidar community, powering its historic win over 156 of the total 182 Gujarat Assembly seats in the 2022 polls on Thursday. The community voted against the BJP in the 2017 Assembly elections, conducted amid an agitation demanding Other Backward Classes (OBC) status for the social group and the reservation it entails.

    Why does this story matter?

    • Patidars—commonly identified by the surname Patel—are an influential social group in Gujarat, reportedly accounting for 18% of the state's population and dominating around 40 Assembly seats.
    • The 2017 elections saw 44 Patidar MLAs clinching victory.
    • In this election, the BJP gave tickets to 41 Patidar candidates and Congress to 40, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gave a significant number of tickets to them.

    BJP wrestled back Patidar-dominated seats from Congress

    The BJP won the Patidar-dominated seats of Amreli, Dhoraji, Morbi, Surat, Tankara, and Unjha, among others. Notably, most of these seats were won by Congress in 2017, as the community supported the party to further its cause. The BJP placated the community by bringing in the reservation policy for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), aimed at the "poor" among the forward castes.

    BJP's efforts to bring Patidars around

    Hardik Patel, who emerged as the leader of the Patidar agitation, was with Congress in the last polls but joined the BJP before this year's elections. He was fielded from the Viramgam seat and he reportedly marked victory with a huge margin. The BJP also replaced Chief Minister Vijay Rupani with incumbent CM Bhupendra Patel, in an effort to bring around the social group.

    How did discontent among Patidars grow

    In 1981, the Congress government in Gujarat introduced reservations for socially and economically backward castes—later the OBC list—which saw widespread anti-reservation protests that resulted in over one hundred deaths, forcing then CM Madhavsinh Solanki to resign. In 1985, Congress returned to power by winning a record 149 seats—broken by the BJP on Thursday. Following this, the Patidars felt sidelined, which precipitated the community's agitation.

    Downward social mobility, shrinking economic opportunities caused Patidar agitation

    As the Congress government in 1985 was powered by Kshatriya, Dalit, Adivasi, and Muslim communities, other communities, including the Patidars, reportedly saw downward social mobility. Their next generation struggled with shrinking economic opportunities, exacerbating discontent. Starting in 2015, the Patidars held large-scale demonstrations across the state demanding that they be declared as OBCs and given reservations in educational institutions and government jobs.

    Share this timeline
    Facebook
    Whatsapp
    Twitter
    Linkedin
    Latest
    Gujarat
    Other Backward Class (OBC)
    Gujarat Elections
    Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti

    Latest

    Netizens call out Disney+ Hotstar for not adding 'Succession' S04 Disney+ Hotstar
    #RarePhenomenon: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus will be visible tomorrow Moon
    Nothing Phone (2): What to expect from the flagship smartphone Nothing Phone (2)
    List of records Rohit Sharma can break in IPL 2023  Rohit Sharma

    Gujarat

    Gujarat: Bilkis Bano case convict shares stage with BJP leaders Bilkis Bano
    Opposition meet today over RaGa's conviction in Modi surname case Congress Party
    New COVID-19 variant, XBB.1.16 detected in 349 samples: Govt COVID-19
    What is 2019 defamation case against Rahul Gandhi; Know here   Rahul Gandhi

    Other Backward Class (OBC)

    Karnataka: Congress-BJP faceoff over Muslim OBC-quota scrapping; Shah invokes Constitution Congress Party
    Karnataka ends 4% Muslim OBC reservation, hikes Lingayat, Vokkaliga quota Karnataka
    Nearly 4,000 SC, ST, OBC central university teaching posts vacant Central Government
    SC stays HC order on reservation for UP civic polls Uttar Pradesh

    Gujarat Elections

    Gujarat: Bhupendra Patel to take oath as CM today Gujarat
    BJP wins Gujarat's Morbi where bridge collapse killed over 140 Gujarat
    2022 Assembly elections: BJP steamrolls in Gujarat, uncertainty in Himachal Elections
    Gujarat elections: 'Underdeveloped' villages in Kheda, Mehsana districts boycott polling Gujarat

    Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti

    Hardik Patel's will: Parents, protesters and 'gaushala' named as inheritors Gujarat
    Gujarat: Hardik Patel begins indefinite fast for Patidar quota Gujarat
    Mamata Banerjee to Hardik Patel: Join Trinamool Congress West Bengal
    Gujarat polls: Hardik Patel sex-CDs Part III go viral Gujarat

    Love Politics News?

    Subscribe to stay updated.

    Politics Thumbnail
    Indian Premier League (IPL) Celebrity Hollywood Bollywood UEFA Champions League Tennis Football Smartphones Cryptocurrency Upcoming Movies Premier League Cricket News Latest automobiles Latest Cars Upcoming Cars Latest Bikes Upcoming Tablets
    About Us Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Contact Us Ethical Conduct Grievance Redressal News News Archive Topics Archive Download DevBytes Find Cricket Statistics
    Follow us on
    Facebook Twitter Linkedin
    All rights reserved © NewsBytes 2023