BJP’s outreach in Gujarat: More seats for Patidars

While the BJP is contemplating giving more seats to the Patidars, it would also focus on its outreach towards the OBCs.

In a bid to win the Gujarat assembly elections, the BJP is set to allot a substantial number of seats to the Patidars. The move is aimed at blocking any shift that the community may make towards the Congress.

The Patidar community constitutes 14 per cent of the state's population. While the community has been traditionally loyal to the BJP, the issue of reservation has been on the boil. Moreover Hardik Patel who is leading the protest has met several leaders of the Congress and has shown signs of supporting the party in the upcoming elections.

The BJP however has downplayed the cozying up of Hardik Patel and the Congress. The BJP's national spokesperson, G V L Narasimha Rao said that no caste leader can command the following of the entire community. Hardik had initially got some traction among the Patidars, but he started to lose it after he cozied up the Congress, Rao also said. Rao further said that the OBCs who account for nearly 40 per cent of Gujarat's population will go with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While the BJP is contemplating giving more seats to the Patidars, it would also focus on its outreach towards the OBCs. It would drive across the point that it had decided to provide constitutional status to the OBC commission. Further the BJP would speak about how there was a last minute glitch because of the Congress.

OneIndia News