Know Your City: Khanpur karyalay in Ahmedabad traces the fascinating story of BJP’s rise in Gujarat

Till 2012, the BJP which has been winning every Assembly election in the state since 1995, held its Vijay Sarghas (victory rally) at JP Chowk, mostly addressed by then chief minister Narendra Modi. In 2019, Modi returned to address another victory rally here in May after the party won all 26 seats in the state in the Lok Sabha polls for the second straight term, and went down memory lane recalling how his entire life was spent in this karyalay.

Modi, in his address to karyakartas that day, recalled how “Ashokbhai (Bhatt, the late BJP minister and Assembly speaker) would order in dal vadas (lentil pakodas) in the evening…on my desk there would be peanuts and gram, and the older journalists would come with their stories from everywhere. Those were evenings of laughter and mirth.”

Khanpur Karyalay

The office, popularly known as the Khanpur Karyalay and which is one of the landmark points in the walled city area of Khanpur in Ahmedabad, traces the fascinating story of the BJP’s rise in Gujarat. From 1984 to 1989 when the BJP fought its first Assembly election and won only 11 seats to 2022 when it beat the Congress record of 149 seats and bagged 156 seats, there has been no looking back.

Janak Purohit – one of the oldest names in Gujarat BJP and the karyalay mantri (secretary) of the state BJP office in Khanpur till 1989-90 – says that the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) had its office in a small room in the city’s Manek Chowk area. Due to dearth of space, the office was shifted to a residential building in Golvad of Khadia area.

A member of the BJS and later of the BJP till 1989-90 when he became a journalist, Purohit says, “The BJS bought that building from Ramanlal Sheth, the then owner of Jansatta newspaper. It was a spacious place with 2-3 rooms and a hall. In 1980, when the BJP was formed, as an immediate arrangement, a shop was taken on rent on the ground floor of Ellisbridge Shopping Centre at the west end of Ellisbridge, next to the police station. Chambers were made in that shop while erecting partitions. But it was found to be not very spacious and so the party office was shifted back to Khadia.”

According to Purohit, the idea of the BJP having its office in Khanpur came first in 1984 when Makrand Desai was the state party president, Shankersinh Vaghela was the general secretary and Nathalal Jhagda the organising secretary.

“A building in Khanpur having 11 shops on the ground floor owned by advcoate Kanubhai Patel was to be sold. The then BJS MLA from Sarkhej constituency Bhavansinh Chauhan, who was into construction business, informed this to the party leaders (with a suggestion that it could be bought to set up the party office),” says Purohit.

He adds, “Kanubhai said there are 11 shops and 10 of them were given on rent and he had the possession of one shop. He also said that the terrace could be utilised. So, Bhavansinh informed Shankersinh and Nathalal about the building where a huge parking space was available. So then, with the possession of one shop, that building was bought at the cost of Rs 3.5 lakh in 1984.”

The building was bought in the name of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Trust. The trust had Shankersinh Vaghela, Nathalal Jhagda, Keshubhai Patel, Chimanbhai Shukla, etc as trustees, Purohit recalls. “The party office was started in one vacant shop on the ground floor that we got possession of then. It was decided that we would build a floor upstairs with a hall. Offices of various newspapers and news agencies were nearby. So, initially it was decided that we will sit there between 4 to 8 in the evening to meet the journalists. But after two months, the party office was started in the one-room fulltime.”

First expansion in 1984

The office was first expanded towards the end of 1984 when Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections were approaching and a temporary party office was set up on Ashram Road, he says. “And at that time, since the Khanpur office was vacant, a floor was built on the terrace over the 11 shops with pucca walls and tin shade within two months. A chamber for the party president, a hall, and amenities like a pantry and a washroom were constructed on that floor.

The second expansion of the building was in 1987-88. “Two Parsi families owned the buildings adjoining the Khanpur office. One family wanted to sell their property. So, the BJP bought that building in 1987. The second Parsi family too sold its building within the next six months. The two buildings were bought at Rs 3.5 lakh each. The current entrance of the BJP’s Khanpur karyalay was part of one of the two Parsi buildings,” Purohit says.

The buildings were subsequently renovated and connected to the party office in 1988. Gradually, the BJP also got most of the shops rented out on the ground floor vacated. Purohit, who was involved in completing the revenue department formalities for the building and its expansion, says each of the three deals were worth Rs 3.5 lakh, resulting in a total cost of Rs 10.5 lakh.

No formal inauguration, payment in instalments

Recalling some interesting facts related to the purchase of the building, Purohit says, “The party did not have funds then. So, the payment was made in instalments through advance cheques. The party did not have even Rs 3.5 lakh. We completed Kanubhai’s payment in three years.”

“There was no formal inauguration of the building since it was done in a gradual manner. I can recollect that after the 1984 elections, the first press conference was held on the first floor of the new building and renowned party leader from Mumbai Amar Jhariwala had come here,” he says.

Speaking to The Indian Express veteran BJP leader and party state treasurer Surendra Patel says, “The building is in the name of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Trust. Then the trust consisted of leaders like Shankersinh Vaghela, Keshubhai Patel, Prahlad Patel, Suryakant Acharya etc. Currently, Rajendrasinh Rana, Vajubhai (Vala) and I are there (as trustees).”

In 2012, the Gujarat BJP got its grand state headquarters – Shree Kamalam – at Koba in Gandhinagar. Following that, the Khanpur office was turned into the Ahmedabad city unit office of the BJP. Patel says, “When we got our new state headquarters, many thought that we will vacate the Khanpur karyalay. But we did not want to leave the area. Strategically, it is important to have an office there.”

Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas calls the Khanpur karyalay “very auspicious” for the state BJP since it came to political prominence from there. “The seeds of the party fighting all 182 seats (in the Assembly) and winning the elections to form the government were sown from that office during the early 1990s. It is considered very auspicious and lucky for us. Whatever important political activities were done during those times, they were done from that karyalay. It was there that we hoped to form the government for the first time.”