Almost like a scene out of Hindi potboilers, the death of this central character is being seen as the turning point of the entire power play in the region.
Mahipatsinh Jadeja’s death (Feb 1) marks the end of an era in the Gondal seat, where elections have been won and lost on basis of caste and violence, irrespective of parties. Once an outlaw, the self-styled Independent and strongman from Ribda village in Gondal taluka of Rajkot district set a trend in Gondal that continues till today — win elections using caste and violence.
On February 12, when the family was concluding the funeral rites for Mahipatsinh, who died on February 1, CM Bhupendra Patel was attending the wedding of Jyotiradityasinh Jadeja, son of sitting BJP MLA Geetaba and Jayrajsinh in Gondal — indicative of the change in fortunes of the rival Kshatriya brigands.
In an interview in 2019, Mahipatsinh had recalled how he was jailed in 1952 for allegedly joining a 1949 revolt by Kshatriyas against the government plans to divest Kshatriyas with royal connections of giras (large estates). The 1937-born Mahipatsinh had a reason to join the revolt. His father Bhavubha, who was a farmer when Mahipatsinh was born, had later enrolled in the police force of the erstwhile princely state of Palitana in present-day Bhavnagar.
Interestingly, the Khastriya ownerships were retained even after princely states had merged into Union of India. The government of the then Saurashtra state eventually enacted Saurashtra Barkhali Abolition Act 1951, taking ownership of large tracts of lands away from Kshatriya girasdars (estate owners) for redistribution among the landless.
As per his own admission, Mahipatsinh was exiled from the Rajkot district in 1957 and 1963, before being booked in 1965 for allegedly committing 76 dacoities in 43 villages along with other “gang” members. While he was acquitted in that case in 1968, he was banished again. Later on, he formed a truckers’ association in Gondal taluka and became its secretary.
He forayed into electoral politics by winning a seat in Gondal taluka panchayat in 1975 (and again in 1980) as an Independent. He became president of Gondal taluka panchayat that year with the help of some Congress members who wanted to prevent Janata Dal from seizing control of the panchayat. However, he lost favour of Congress supporters later, and lost the 1986 election to the taluka panchayat.
But his friction with Popat Sorathiya, the then Congress MLA from Gondal, and a Patidar, was increasing by the day. Sensing that Sorathiya was coming in the way of his father’s rise, Mahipatsinh’s 22-year-old son Aniruddhsinh shot the Congress MLA dead in full public view at the Independence Day event in 1988, when the Congress was in power in Gujarat.
Aniruddsinh was detained by some State Reserve Police (SRP) officers who were attending the celebrations. Aniruddhsinh, whose sentence has now been remitted, was booked for murder and under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) Act as well as the Arms Act.
After Sorathiya’s murder, the Gondal Assembly seat remained vacant for a year-and-a-half as no bypoll was held. When the Assembly elections were held in 1990, Mahipatsinh contested as an Independent.
The Congress fielded its local leader Kishor Andipara who, sources claim, had a role in making Mahipatsinh president of the Gondal taluka panchayat a decade ago. The BJP leadership wanted to field farmer leader Jayanti Dhol, but with opposition building within, the party gave the seat to alliance partner Janata Dal and the ticket went to industrialist Madhusudan Donga.
Mahipatsinh defeated Donga by around 10,000 votes and relegated the Congress to third position, even as Andipara alleged that Mahipatsinh’s men had facilitated bogus voting. The 1990 election was a game-changer, marking the end of the Congress era in Gujarat with the Janata Dal winning the highest number of seats at 70, the BJP getting a solid toehold at 67 seats and Congress falling to 33 seats.
And Mahipatsinh became the first Kshatriya and only the second non-Patidar to win the Gondal seat. Barring the 1962 election, when Vajubhai Shah had won on a Congress ticket, only Patidars had won the seat in six elections to the seat till 1985.
Mahipatsinh’s grip over Gondal continued to tighten from then on.
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