Gujarat panchayat polls: Mota Samadhiyala, epicentre of Dalit unrest, elects BJP worker as sarpanch

The results were declared in the wee hours of Friday, days after Mota Samadhiyala and 77 other panchayats in Una taluka went to polls on December 27. As many as 13 villages in the taluka had went for Samras and did not go to polls. Though panchayat elections are not fought on party symbols, Dhanjibhai is a registered BJP worker. He secured 468 votes, while Praful got only 212 votes — 22 less than Independent candidate Bhavesh Korat, who was polled 234 votes.

Mota Samadhiyala, having a population of 1,680, had recorded a turnout of 71 per cent. While the village is dominated by the Patidars, people from the Ahir community are also in large numbers. There are 27 Dalit families in the village and they have around 50 voters.

Balu Sarvaiya had publicly told Union minister Parshottam Rupala that he supported BJP for 20 years, yet he and his family members were subjected to atrocities.

After his victory, Dhanjibhai told The Indian Express: “I made no big promises, but assured them (the villagers) that I will solve their small issues… I also assured them that I will not allow any corruption in the village. I have good relations with everyone in the village, and they have supported me.” He said his priorities would be to replace leaking pipelines for water distribution, and construct concrete roads in some parts of the village.

A farmer, Dhanjibhai has received formal education till Mota Samadhiyala, epicentre of Dalit unrest, elects BJP worker as sarpanch Class V. He had construction business in Surat, but he along with his wife returned to Mota Samadhiyala seven years ago. After returning to his native village, he became a member of the BJP and his nephew Kanti was elected to Una taluka panchayat from Mota Samadhiyala seat on a BJP ticket last year.
Zaveribhai Thakrar, president of BJP’s Gir Somnath district unit, confirmed Dhanjibhai’s association with the saffron party. “He is our registered member and active worker for the last six-seven years. Despite the July 11 incident, BJP has done well in the entire district and our members and supporters have won majority of the village panchayats,” said Thakrar.

Reacting to his loss, the outgoing sarpanch said: “My challenger managed to polarise votes. He whipped up caste, whereas, I believe in taking everybody along. They also used money power and bought some of our supporters… I did whatever was possible for the village. But, the result has taught me one lesson — this is not the era of honest people.” Praful, however, said the assault on Balu Sarvaiya and his family had little impact on the results.

Following Praful’s defeat, Congress MLA from Una Punjabhai Vansh said: “Praful was a Congress supporter, but he was not a committed party worker. Overall, we managed to win most panchayats were we had put up our candidates. There is no denying the fact that we’ve lost certain panchayats, but this is a good performance overall.”