Caste still a major factor in selection of candidates in Gujarat: Political analysts
Ahmedabad (PTI): 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.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
