Patidar leader Hardik Patel and the fellow ‘caste cowboys’—as the BJP called him and OBC leader Alpesh Thakore and dalit activist Jignesh Mevani—ignited the Congress’s high-octane campaign in Gujarat. Hardik did not contest the elections because he is not yet 25. Alpesh won from Radhanpur on a Congress ticket and Jignesh from Vadgam as an independent. Though the BJP accused the Congress of promoting casteism by promoting them, there is no denying that the issues they talked about were those of large sections of society, not just the caste they belong to.
THE CROWD-PULLER
Hardik Patel | Illustrations: Jairaj T.G.
As a teenager, Hardik quite often landed in brawls. But he knew an easy way out—he would mention his father’s name. It always worked, as his father, Bharatbhai, who ran a business of submersible pumps, was a respected name in Viramgam, a village 50km from Ahmedabad. Coming back home, Hardik would tell his father, ‘They let me go because I mentioned your name. Soon will come a time when you will be known by my name.’ Hardik had not turned 22 when he formed the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) and spearheaded an agitation that shook the BJP.
His friend Harsh Dave said Hardik was a good cricketer at school. “Hardik’s idol was Sachin Tendulkar, but he batted like Virender Sehwag.” He was fearless like Sehwag, as he took on Modi and Amit Shah. He was slapped with sedition charges and put behind the bars (he is out on bail). He is ready to go back to jail for the cause. “I am not afraid,” he has been saying.
It was trying times for his parents when he was in jail. “We remained strong, as our son remained strong,” said Ushaben, his mother. “We knew he did not do anything wrong.” Bharatbhai said Hardik received several offers from the BJP to wind up the agitation. “We did not budge,” he said.
Bharatbhai had driven former chief minister Anandiben Patel’s vehicle for many election campaigns. “She used to sit beside me. I was with the BJP for 15 years,” he said. Hardik calls her “foi (paternal aunt)” in his speeches because she used to send rakhi to his father.
Before PAAS, Hardik was associated with the Sardar Patel Group (SPG). “He could persuade school and college authorities to take less donation from meritorious students,” said Bharatbhai. He also recalled that Hardik and other SPG volunteers brought back Patel girls who had married men from other castes. Bharatbhai gets angry if anyone rakes up the Hardik sex CD scandal. “This is all wrong. He is being framed because he could not be bought. Why have they shown only the back of the girl in the CD? Why haven’t they shown them having sex?” he asked.
THE DALIT CHAMPION
Jignesh Mevani
Even a day before Jignesh Mevani filed nomination papers in Vadgam, his family had no clue about it. Out of the blue he told them that he had decided to contest. Jignesh, 37, has always been like this. “He is impulsive. And his decisions are final,” said Sanjay Bhave, his English professor at the HK Arts College in Ahmedabad.
Born in Ahmedabad, Jignesh grew up in a middle-class family in a dalit neighbourhood. Both his parents worked. “Nobody in the family was an activist before,” said his mother, Chandrikaben. She taught him till class VI. Jignesh was a bright student, and scored good marks in class X. The science stream he took up after that, however, did not work well. “He failed in two subjects in class XII,” she said. He tried once more, but failed again. Then, his father, Natwarlal, suggested he should take up arts stream. It was a turning point.
“Jignesh was a passionate student,” said Bhave. During his college days he started working with activist Mukul Sinha’s Jan Sangharsh Manch. “He had come with someone to the office of JSM. He then started getting involved in the work we did,” said Sinha’s wife, Nirjhari. It is said that he studied law at Sinha’s insistence. “Sinha used to tell that all activists should have knowledge of law,” said Nirjhari.
Jignesh had been fighting cases in the High Court for landless dalits for quite some time. But he shot into limelight during the protests over the flogging of four dalits who were falsely accused of killing a cow in Una in July 2016. He led a 330km protest march from Ahmedabad to Una. After winning in Vadgam, he dedicated the victory to the Una flogging victims.
Jignesh has filled a vacuum that was present in Gujarat politics for a long time. It seems he is set to be the face of dalit politics in India.
THE SOCIAL REFORMER
Alpesh Thakore
When the Congress named Alpesh Thakore as its candidate in Radhanpur, there was many a heartburn. As a result, he had to fight not just the opponent, but also the outsider tag. Alpesh, however, is not really an outsider in the Congress. His father, Khodbhai Thakore, was a Congress leader, and Alpesh himself had contested a panchayat election on Congress ticket. But he lost that election and took a sabbatical from politics to form Thakore Sena. He rejoined the Congress before the assembly elections.
Born in Edla in Viramgam, Alpesh moved to Ahmedabad with his family 25 years ago. “Both my sons—Vishnu and Alpesh—would often ask me to give things to the needy,” said his mother, Shantaben. “He could not see anyone in pain.” But what changed his life forever was two deaths in the family. “Two of his cousins died because of alcoholism,” she said. “He decided that this should be changed.”
Alpesh’s parents live above his office in Ahmedabad. He lives in a nearby building with his wife, Kiran, and two children. Shantaben visited Radhanpur during his campaigning, and she was moved by the sight of people waiting to meet her son. “There were many who told us that their children gave up alcohol because of Alpesh,” she said.
Kiran is used to her husband’s busy schedule. She even campaigned for him. They met at college. “Theirs was a love marriage,” said Shantaben. “Initially her parents hesitated but later they came to see our place and the marriage was fixed.”
The family does not pay any attention to the attempts by opponents to discredit Alpesh. There were rumours that he joined the Congress because his talks with the BJP had failed. “Alpesh tells us let people keep talking,” said Shantaben. That seems to be a good start for a career in politics.
Hardik Patel
Patidars dominant in around 60 constituencies
Congress candidate and Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti member Lalit Vasoya won in Dhoraji by 25,085 votes
Surendranagar district, Saurashtra: Congress won 4/5 seats
Patan district, North Gujarat: Congress won 3/4 seats
Botad constituency, Saurashtra: BJP’s margin was only 906 votes
Jignesh Mevani
Constituency: Vadgam
Votes received: 95,497
Defeated: Chakravarti Vijaykumar Harkhabhai (BJP)
Margin: 19,696
Alpesh Thakore
Constituency: Radhanpur
Votes received: 85,777
Defeated: Solanki Lavingji Muljiji Thakor (BJP)
Margin: 14,857 Three of his six associates also won
