Rajput, Rage, Rupala: What We Saw And Heard On The Ground In Rajkot Right Before Polling

“Even if a pillar post contested a seat, it would win elections in Indira Gandhi’s name” — this was a common saying in the heydays of the former prime minister.

The argument that 2024 Lok Sabha polls are a foregone conclusion is still contested by many. But that was not the case in Gujarat though. There was no argument there.

Amidst this ‘thanda mahaul’, only BJP could have made things difficult for BJP in Gujarat

Enters Parshottam Rupala, the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and BJP’s candidate from Rajkot. On March 22, while addressing a small Dalit gathering Rupala said, “Raja-Maharajas bowed down and gave their daughters to foreign rulers and the British, broke bread with them, while us Dalits neither gave up our religion nor made any relations with them, we are the true inheritors of Sanatan Dharma”.

Since then the Kshatriya community had been protesting and called for Rupala's candidature to be withdrawn. The agitation refused to die down even after Rupala apologised more than once for his comments. Gujarat BJP chief C R Patil too tried to assuage the community. The party, however, did not replace Rupala. The agitation continued.

Meanwhile, the community kept reiterating that “Modi tujhse bair nahi, Rupala teri khair nahi” (no spar with Modi, but won’t spare Rupala).

As the BJP continued its parley with Kshatriya leaders, around 108 community leaders from south Gujarat met C R Patil in Surat and extended support to BJP and PM Modi a week before the polls.

Amidst all this back and forth, voting took place for 25 out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat on 7 May (Phase-3). In Rajkot, Parshottam Rupala, who is a Kadwa Patidar, was challenged by Congress’ Paresh Dhanani, who comes from the Leuva Patidar community.

Swarajya’s Visit To Rajkot Just Before The Polls

Two days before the voting, Swarajya visited Rajkot, Parshottam Rupala’s seat and the epicentre of the protests, to understand the specifics and the impact of this ‘agitation’.

Landing at the newly inaugurated Rajkot International Airport at Hirasar, one is presented with a sight that has become common to a large number of airports in the country, especially Gujarat – an under-construction terminal. (Interesting nugget: The airport was completed six months earlier than the expected time of December 2023).

On an hour-long drive to the hotel, Pareshbhai, the cab driver happened to be a Rajput who was happy to talk. More about Rajkot and BJP, less about the agitation and Rupala.

It takes a little prodding before he opens up. There was only one demand. Remove Rupala. "He has uttered nonsense about the Kshatriya women. Withdraw his ticket. There is no problem with the party".

“I don’t go to these meetings but my brother-in-law does. I have no interest. Good work has happened here. Why to hurt the entire party for his (Rupala’s) stupid statement?” he replied when asked if attended any of the agitation gatherings.

Swarajya asked Pareshbhai who would he vote for? “Our family favours Modi ji. Problem is with Rupala. We don’t want to bring Congress but what can we do? Dhanani (Congress candidate) is also a Patidar. He has some support. Some will vote for him. Some won’t vote at all,” he reveals.

“Even Patidars are unhappy with Rupala. He is from Amreli and Dhanani is from here. There are two kinds of Patidars, ‘Kadwa Patidar’ to which Rupala belongs and ‘Leuva Patidar’ from which Dhanani comes. Leuvas are very powerful.”

“Rupala will win but only because of Modi. Everybody is in Modi ji’s favour. Craze hi aisa hai. Mereko khada karo, mai bhi jeet jaunga (such is the craze that if I stand, I’d also win in Modi’s name),” he laughs.

"Who Gave Birth To Ram?"

On Kalawad road, just at the gate of a society, was the makeshift office of the Kshatriya Asmita Samiti.

The walls of the office, a small room, was filled with posters in Gujarati opposing Parshottam Rupala. Next to it, a tent covered the open area, with plastic chairs arranged for the community members to sit. It was around 4 pm in the evening. A few men are seated outside on the chairs sipping tea. They invite us to sit with them.

One of them, Devendra Jadeja, who runs a construction business, talked about Rupala’s statement and their demand for cancellation of Rupala’s candidature.

“We did not distribute any pamphlets, made no calls, people came on their own because this is a matter of ‘nari asmita’ (women’s dignity). They’re hurt,” he said, emphasising the organic nature of the agitation.

Another member, also named Devendra Jadeja, takes over, “people come and sit here till late at night. Old, young, men, women, all come here. Our only demand was to remove Rupala. We even suggested that the ticket be given to his wife or daughter. Either the BJP is underestimating Rajputs or has become arrogant.”

The former Devendra chips in, “they thought we are a warrior community so the protest might get violent and would be suppressed with force. But nothing of that sort happened. We are carrying out Dharma Yatras. Thousands are joining but yet there is no public nuisance.”

They offered us tea and insisted on trying their "world-famous" Rajwadi chai. A group of women arrive and sit on chairs in a group in another corner.

“This is the first time that PM Modi didn’t address a rally in Rajkot. You won’t find any BJP flags in Rajkot,” said the man who served us tea.

Rajkot region has been a BJP stronghold, particularly in areas like Rajkot South and Rajkot West. Interestingly, it is from this city that PM Narendra Modi began his political career when he won the by-election from Rajkot-2 assembly in 2002.

Swarajya asked them about Ram Mandir and if it was a factor. “See the issue again comes back to nari asmita. We are Prabhu Ram’s descendants. But who gave birth to Ram? It was a woman. Who did Rupala insult? Women of Prabhu Ram’s lineage,” said a man who just came and sat with us.

He continued, “the problem is also the local unit of BJP which has not given proper feedback to the central leadership about the anger on ground. They’ve told the leadership that everything is fine here and there is no major opposition. This will hurt the party now. Rupala has not apologised unconditionally even once. He always says he is apologising for the party, for Modi ji. That is not an apology.”

A day later, heirs of 45 former princely states in Gujarat, at a 'contemplation meeting’ organised by the Rajkot royal Mandhatasinh Jadeja, adopted a resolution to support PM Modi in the “broader national interest” and to “protect Sanatan Dharma”.

While we chatted, Devendra pointed to a man, donning a traditional Kathiawadi turban, sitting on a chair surrounded by several others, “that is P T Jadeja saheb”. P T Jadeja is the leader of the Kshatriya community in Rajkot who has been spearheading the agitation.

Swarajya spoke to Professor Anirudh Jadeja, who was among the ones sitting with P T Jadeja. “Rajputs of Gujarat have been associated with RSS since independence. And when BJP was formed, they naturally joined and supported the party. Till today more than 95 per cent of Rajputs support the party.”

He explained how many people in the community think that in recent times BJP has been giving step-motherly treatment to the Rajputs with hardly any representation in the party or the government.

"The Rajputs who still support BJP are being called “Bhaajput” (a portmanteau play on 'Bhaajap' and 'Rajput')", he adds.

He contended that the agitation will impact 8-10 seats in the state while revealing that he had been against the BJP even before this, though he lamented that there were a very few like him in the community.

Naari Asmita at “Swabhimaan Jyota” rally

A few kilometres ahead on the same Kalawad Road, Rajput women gathered for “Swabhimaan Jyota” rally where they lit fire torches and candles.

As we reached there, a man on the stage concluded his speech and the crowd erupted in the chants of “Jai Bhawani”.

“This is a social issue. But because of elections the issue is politicised. It is about arrogance. We made them and they are ignoring us now. We even suggested giving the ticket to his (Rupala’s) wife or children instead of him,” says Bhargaviba Gohil.

Swarajya asked her about the impact of this agitation on elections.

She says, “more than elections it is a social issue. More people are gathering at our meetings than BJP or Congress rallies. This is an organic movement.”

She spoke about the Dharma Yatra which, according to her, had reached more than 200 villages and over 2 lakh people. Then she, like several others, reiterated the peaceful and organic nature of the protest.

“See Parshottam Rupala has damaged my phone too,” she quipped in laughter while showing her phone with a broken screen.

While heading back, we talked to our old-aged auto driver who was unusually jolly for a man after a day’s hard work.

“This happens before every election. In the end all of them will vote for BJP. If not Modi, who will they vote for?” he counter-questions us.

“There are no reasons to complain. So this is an issue that has been picked up. Par vote to Modi ji ko hi karenge sab,” he says nonchalantly.

Impact On Elections And Other Communities

In Rajkot, it was believed that the agitation may not pose a problem as the Rajputs here number only around 4 per cent of the constituency of nearly 20 lakh voters.

Apart from the Rajputs, the voting population in the constituency is dominated by the Patidars, Kolis, Maldharis, and small percentages of Scheduled Castes, Brahmins, and Lohana.

The Rajkot Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven Vidhan Sabha segments, with five — Rajkot East, Rajkot West, Rajkot South, Rajkot Rural, and Jasdan under Rajkot district, and Tankara and Wankaner under Morbi district.

Next day, we visited Jai Bhimnagar in Rajkot south, a neighbourhood dominated by the Dalit community, where a set of voters always support the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), says Jitender Bahadiya, a resident.

On the agitation, he adds, “The agitation is of a single community. While other samaaj support the issue, as it is related to the ‘naari asmita’, the agitation is not going to impact the voting choices of people here. They (Kshatriyas) are upper caste people, our community has always been stuck, is backward, and wants to focus on its own issues that mostly go unheard.”

Right at the junction outside Jai Bhimnagar, which opens on the posh Kalavad road, a group of men, sitting outside their office, enthusiastically, shared their opinions on the agitation.

Dushyant Solanki, a doctor, said, “The agitation will not impact the voting here, in the main city. However, in the rural regions, the movement will influence the voting sentiment. But it won’t affect the results.”

“Although I don’t follow the BJP’s ideology, and will not vote in its favour, my community, my family, friends will be voting for the BJP. Yeh Gujarat hai, yaha kuch bhi ho jaaye, ant mein BJP ko hi jeetna hai (this is Gujarat, whatever may happen here, in the end BJP will win). They have permanent 30-40 per cent voters (who don’t sway). Agitations like these always happen during elections, but it doesn’t change the final results.”

“Kuch nahi hona hai iska (nothing will happen),” says Rajendra Patel, “in all of this, real issues get overshadowed. Look at the education here. We are government teachers but don’t have a permanent job. All new teachers are on contract with a fixed salary of Rs 20,000."

Naresh Gadhavi, also a teacher, describes Gujarat’s political situation that since three generations there has been no ‘naya mahaul’ (new atmosphere) and that the new generations haven’t seen any alternative.

“BJP has been in power here for around 35 years. But the development is not all because of the BJP. The people here are enterprising and hard working.”

When asked about the decreasing voter turnout and what it meant for the BJP, “Congress voters like us don’t go out and vote, so naturally this will happen. But what can we also do? What’s the use of voting? Everyone here is a BJP supporter. Look at Rajasthan’s public, they switch every five years. There is no opposition cadre here. Look at BJP’s workers. They pull people from their homes to make them vote.”

While purchasing a bottle of water, we asked a shopkeeper about the agitation. “Aap kisi ko bhi jaake puch lo, vote kisko denge? No one will say this person or that person. Sab bolenge Modi ji,” he says dismissively.

Aftermath — Rajkot, A Seat To Watch?

Gujarat voted on 7 May. The fate of Rupala, anger of Rajputs, and BJP’s performance is sealed in the ballot. And yet, a day after the polls, Rupala again apologised for his remarks. “It was very painful for me because the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi suffered because of me,” he said, calling it the toughest phase of his four-decade-long political career.

Stressing that he decided to apologise a day after elections to show that his apology wasn’t just to gain votes, the minister said, “today, one more time, I tender a humble apology… I held nothing against the Kshatriya community that day, nor do I have it even today… Their yesterday’s conduct was highly praiseworthy, and I want to thank the Kshatriya community as they did not create any hurdles in the election process yesterday.”

This is not to say the agitation had no impact. Ripples existed, but did they form a wave, small or big or at all, will be seen on 4 June.

Along with South Goa (as Sharan Setty contends in this report), Baramati's Pawar battle (as reported by Krishna Dange), and the unpredictable Madhepura (compared to a cross-seam delivery by Abhishek Kumar), Rajkot will be a seat to watch on 4 June when the results trickle in.

This report is part of Swarajya's 50 Ground Stories Project - an attempt to throw light on themes and topics that are often overlooked or looked down. You can support this initiative by sponsoring as little as Rs 2,999/-. Click here for more details.