Archives for April 2024

Ahmedabad: Political parties may claim that the caste arithmetic does not play a role in candidate selection but analysts say it is still a major factor in Gujarat, even though urbanisation has weakened caste identities in some parts of the state.

In rural areas, however, caste is still a dominant factor, they said.

Patidars constitute 11-12 per cent of Gujarat’s 6.5-crore population and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), scattered across many sub-communities including Thakors in north and Kolis in central Gujarat and Saurashtra, constitute around 40 per cent.

The BJP has fielded six Patidars, seven OBCs and three Kolis. The Congress and the AAP, part of the opposition INDIA alliance, have fielded six Patidars, seven OBCs and two Kolis.

Vidyut Joshi, sociologist and former vice-chancellor of Bhavnagar University, told PTI that Gujarat’s first four chief ministers were either Brahmin or Vanik.

Patidars entered the political scene after the 70s when Chimanbhai Patel became the chief minister in 1973, he said.

“Caste is an identity. The caste factor is considered in the selection of candidates. It cannot be discarded. Today, caste and class go hand-in-hand. The candidate should be from a well-to-do background along with being from a specific caste,” Joshi said.

Rural voters prefer candidates from their caste as they feel it becomes easier to approach them for work after the polls, he said.

Political analyst Amit Dholakia said the caste effect is diminishing in central and south Gujarat’s urban pockets like Ahmedabad and Vadodara but it is still a dominant factor in rural areas like Saurashtra and north Gujarat.

“Candidates have won from seats where their caste was not dominant. Urbanisation plays an important role in weakening caste identities and bringing forward other issues. In rural areas, particularly Saurashtra and north Gujarat, caste still plays an important role in politics,” said Dholakia, a political science professor at the Vadodara-based M S University.

Earlier, candidates directly appealed to people of their caste to vote for them. Now, the appeal revolves either around Hindutva or Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda, he said.

Dholakia further said, “The BJP wants to create a consolidated Hindu vote by blurring caste identities, while the INDIA alliance thinks Hindutva-centric politics can be countered by strengthening caste identities.”

One of the main reasons the Congress was defeated in Gujarat was the weakening of caste identities, at least in urban pockets, he claimed.

“Caste is a factor in the selection of candidates, especially in Saurashtra. Patidars are still a force to reckon with but other castes, especially Kshatriyas, are losing dominance. We cannot discard the caste factor but it is getting weak, mainly because of the rise of Hindutva-centric politics,” he said.

Rajkot-based political analyst Jagdish Mehta said in Saurashtra and Kutch regions, having eight Lok Sabha seats, caste was not a dominant factor before the 1990s.

The parties used to select candidates known for their work or based on their backgrounds, like heirs of erstwhile rulers, he said.

“Prior to the 80s, majority of the winners in the Saurashtra region belonged to different castes and got elected because of their personal image and social connect. After the BJP’s entry, caste suddenly became the most important factor in the selection of candidates,” he claimed.

The BJP talks about politics of development but it takes the caste factor into consideration during candidate selection. It is evident that the BJP selects candidates from dominant castes, Mehta further claimed.

“Though a candidate’s caste should be the last factor, it has become the main factor now,” he added.

Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas, however, doesn’t fully agree.

“We don’t give a lot of importance to caste. We try to maintain a balance. What matters is a candidate’s commitment to the party, ability to win and educational qualification,” said Vyas.

Instead of just relying on the caste factor, the BJP undertakes an elaborate “sense exercise” wherein party observers visit every constituency, meet local leaders and poll aspirants to prepare a list of probable candidates, which is then sent to the party leadership for the final announcement, he said.

State Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said the onus is also on the voters because if they keep rejecting well-qualified and deserving candidates, parties will shift focus to other selection criteria like caste as ultimately victory matters.

“Parties usually keep social engineering in mind while selecting a candidate. The Congress also takes into consideration educational qualifications, mass connect, ability to understand local issues and popularity (of a candidate),” he said, citing Congress’ Banaskantha candidate Geniben Thakor and Rajkot candidate Paresh Dhanani as examples.

“Ultimately, our selection is based on the choice of voters. We have seen in the past how candidates like T N Seshan lost, some struggled to save deposits, and how non-corrupt and upright former government officers lost polls. This creates pressure on parties to look for winnability, not quality of candidates,” said Doshi.

In the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, Congress nominee and former chief election commissioner Seshan, credited with transforming the Election Commission in the 1990s, lost to BJP veteran L K Advani from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.

Hassan: The scandal surrounding Prajwal Revanna, Hassan MP, has taken a dramatic turn as former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy accuses BJP leaders of involvement. Speaking to ANI news agency, Kumaraswamy made serious allegations, claiming that a BJP leader shared the controversial pen drive containing obscene videos.

Kumaraswamy asserted, “After realising victory in Hassan was unlikely, opposition leaders, including a BJP leader, shared the pen drive. They have attempted to tarnish our family’s reputation and misused government power to do so. The involvement of a senior minister and certain BJP leaders from Hassan is evident.”

The alliance between BJP and JDS was formed during the Lok Sabha elections, with voting taking place in 14 constituencies on August 26. Now, as Prajwal’s scandal gains nationwide attention, Kumaraswamy’s accusations threaten to strain the alliance between BJP and JDS.

Kasaragod: In an incident in Kannapur of Kannur district, a collision between a car and a lorry has resulted in the loss of five lives from Kasaragod. The accident occurred on Monday night, claiming the lives of three men, a woman, and a 10-year-old boy who were travelling in the car.

The victims, residents of Chittarikal Bheemanadi, have been identified as Sudhakar (52) from Bheemanadi Churikkad, and L Padmakumar (59) from Kalichi Nadka Shastampara. The identities of the other deceased individuals remain unconfirmed.

The collision occurred between a car travelling from Kannur towards Kasaragod and a lorry transporting cooking gas cylinders heading towards Kannur.

Local residents, along with the fire services and police, rushed to the scene to extricate the trapped individuals from the mangled car. The deceased have been transported to the Kannur Medical College Hospital mortuary.

A tourist mini-bus overturned at Manikyadhara near Baba Budangiri in Chikkamagaluru leaving a boy dead and 30 injured on Sunday.

The family of tourists, hailing from Adivala village of Hiriyur in Chitradurga, was visiting Mullayyana Giri and Baba Budangiri in a mini-bus. When they were on the way to Baba Budangiri, after a picnic at Manikyadhara, the driver of the bus lost control at a turn and the vehicle rolled down a slope into a small ditch. Among the injured passengers, a boy who was taken to the District hospital in a critical condition, didn’t respond to any treatment and succumbed to his injuries later. More than 30 injured, including men, women and children, are being treated at the hospital.

Locals, police and other tourists helped in the rescue of the accident victims who were stuck inside the overturned mini-bus. They were taken to the hospital at Chikkamagaluru city in various ambulances. Rural police have registered a case in this regard.

Lucknow : Unlike other political parties, winning or losing elections does not matter to the Mera Adhikaar Rashtriya Dal (MARD), which has jumped into the electoral battle to be the voice of the ‘mard’ and to defend men’s honour.

MARD has lost deposits on all seats it has contested so far since it was formed in 2018 but its leaders say they are undeterred by elections losses.

The party has released its ‘MANifesto’ for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls with the slogan “Beton ke samman me, ‘mard’ utre maidan me” (In honour of sons, men have stepped on to the battleground).

The party has so far announced candidates for three seats – Lucknow, Ranchi and Gorakhpur.

The MARD party has previously contested in seven different elections – Lok Sabha polls in Varanasi and Lucknow in 2019, bypoll in Bangarmau assembly seat in 2020, assembly polls in Bareilly, Lucknow North, Bakshi Ka Talab (Lucknow) and Chauri Chaura seats in 2022.

“We have jumped into the fray in honour of men, to raise the voice for those who are harassed and exploited in the name of women’s security. Winning and losing does not matter to us,” MARD party national general secretary Ashutosh Kumar Pandey

When asked about the fate of his party candidates contesting polls this time, he candidly accepts, “This time too, they can lose their deposits.”

“We don’t have a lot of resources and we also do not take donations. Our candidates contest on their own expenses. The benefit of contesting the polls is that now more parties are coming to raise the issues of men,” Pandey said.

Kapil Mohan, the party’s national president, said men are “suppressed” in a bid to “empower half the population”. The party wants to highlight this issue so that people pay attention to it, he said.

In the party ‘MANifesto’, the party has promised that a separate Men’s Welfare Ministry and National Men’s Commission will be created so that before any policy or law is formulated, the point of view of men is taken into account.

“It will help in formulating schemes keeping in mind the health, security and honour of men,” Pandey added.

The party has also promised a Men’s Security Bill to save men from exploitation by “laws made for women”.

To ensure that men’s side is heard, Pandey said the party has promised for a “Men power line” on lines of Women power line – a helpline which provides immediate assistance to women in cases of harassment, stalking, etc.

The party has also promised to promote self-reliance of women so that men are not “harassed in the name of alimony”, Pandey said.

Pandey claimed over 200 men commit suicide every day “as they are not heard properly” by anyone. People will be more aware about men’s rights slowly and that was their objective, he said.