Caste is the King
What’s your Caste. Tame Keva?
Most BJP believers and followers defend their party dubbing it as a party with difference with no importance to caste. This is the biggest fallacy that BJP has successfully seeded for its perception management. The truth is that nobody knows caste calculations better than the RSS and the BJP. And the biggest scholar of caste arithmetic for political gains is Narendra Modi. He effectively used this caste combo to unseat the previous government in 1995 in Gujarat. That was his learning stage. He then mastered it as the Chief Minister of Gujarat and repeatedly ensured his victory and the party’s by implementing it.
From 2001 to 2014, Narendra Modi successfully used caste to establish BJP as an unrivalled party in Gujarat. It was after he left for Delhi as the PM that the Patidar agitation led by Hardik Patel for reservation for Patels or the counter agitation for not scrapping the OBC reservation by Alpesh Thakor began. in Gujarat. So did the various Dalit uprising movements by Jignesh Mewani.
To ensure that December 2022 , the crucial Assembly elections in Gujarat are a smooth affair for the BJP, he smartly chose the ministerial berths for Gujarati MPs,keeping caste as the main priority.
For example, Paatidars are not all in favour of BJP. He had promoted both Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala as cabinet ministers. Both are Patidars and both belong to Leuva and Kadva Patidar community. Leaves and Kadvas do not gel with each other. So he has ensured that both get equal representation and Hardik Patel or the Paatidars in general stop leaning towards Congress or Aam Aadmi Party led by Gopal Italia who is also a Patel.
The other ministers from Gujarat are also picked and positioned with a foresight. Mahendra Munjapara, a Koli from Saurashtra is picked to represent the Koli community of the Saurashtra belt. Koli constitute more than 27 per cent of the population and his inclusion gives a strong message of Koli consolidation. Kunwarji Bavalia is also a strong Koli leader but his origins are that of the Congress. Purushottam Solanki, the biggest BJP Koli leader of yesteryears is ailing. Soma Koli of Saurashtra has turned out to be a totally unreliable person losing confidence of his community, ,In these circumstances, a young, clean Koli leader with a doctorate degree can be a good role model for the otherwise backward and still pretty illiterate Koli community that has its hold over 56 Assembly seats in Gujarat.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Aptly describes the ministerial position allowed to Devusinh Chauhan, again a representative of the OBC community. He has Congress origins. Central Gujarat at the moment is the strongest hold of the otherwise on ventilator party, Congress. Gujarat Congress chief Amit Chavda and his super power fun cousin, Bharat Madhavsinh Solanki rule Central Gujarat with their might and brains. The decision to appoint Devising completely destroys the existing might of the Chavda Solanki brothers. Both Amit Chavda and Bharat Solanki also belong to OBC. By making an OBC from this area, a Minister will have a powerful impact on cutting down the Congress in this region. It must be noted that Bharat Solanki as the Party Chief of Congress had taken on CM Modi very impactfully. However, all that is past. OBCs constitute over 49% per cent of Gujarat population. However, this decision could propel another young OBC leader, Alpesh Thakor who flirted with Congress and BJP both to lean towards a third front.
True work and patience pays.
That is Darshana Jardosh. A lady committed to her work and party had been waiting in the wings for long. A lady with a clean image, clear conviction and above all an OBC with good education should have been a BJP star since long. Like CR Paatil, Darshana Jardosh has been with the BJP since nearly its inception. An educated OBC leader from the Darji community, Darshan deserved this and much more. She will be a good inspiration for the OBC community across Gujarat, especially for women and girls. By empowering an OBC woman, Modi, also an OBC has sent a message that he stands for the backward classes and believes in women empowerment of women belonging to marginalised castes.
The other three representatives from Gujarat are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar who was nominated from Gujarat for the Rajya Sabha. With the most important health ministry in these pandemic times with a Gujarat MP, it certainly can be concluded that Aapda Narendrabhai has really been generous towards Gujarat. Of course, the reality is Gujarat elections 2022.
Election Arithmetic
This is the most important point. All the ministerial berths in Gujarat have been meticulously chosen and given considering the election arithmetic. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are experts of political arithmetic and know Gujarat better than the entire opposition put together, academicians or psephologists. Winning elections is the only priority for 2022 and that is the rationale behind all portfolios and Gujarat ministerial berths.
