Diamonds are not forever

The chief minister8217;s supporters have, meanwhile, been quick to organise functions to felicitate their leader in a show of strength before Surat goes to the polls on December 11.

The diamond industry has traditionally supported the BJP. Of the five city seats in Surat district, four went to the BJP in 2002.

Surat8217;s diamond industry employs about 10 lakh people. The city cuts and polishes over 90 per cent of the world8217;s diamonds sourced from South Africa, Europe and Israel. The diamond trade is divided between Saurashtra8217;s Patidars and Jains, with the former lording over two-thirds of the business. The anti-Modi group is led by supporters of former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, a Patidar patriarch8212;and the reason the diamond industry has been sucked into the electoral battle.

Estimates put the campaign funding from Surat at Rs 2-3 crore on seats that would see BJP rebels contest either on their own or with the Congress8217; support. 8220;We are even ready to financially support some weak Congress candidates,8217;8217; says one of the campaigners.

The real clout of these merchants comes from the ploughing back of money to their villages by way of charities. 8220;Every diamond worker influences at least three votes in his village. As their pay-masters, the diamond barons exercise considerable influence,8217;8217; says Arvind Kapadia, president of the Surat Chamber of Commerce.

It is this Patidar-diamond worker matrix that is giving confidence to Modi-baiters like Gordhan Zadaphia and Jivraj Dharukawala, who claim they will bulldoze the BJP in at least 15 seats in Saurashtra. Leading from the front are Gajera brothers, Dhiru and Vasant, with their combined might pegged at Rs 1,800 crore. They are backed by Dharukawala, owner of JB Diamonds, who alone counts for Rs 2,000 crore, and recently hogged the limelight for buying a jet for his personal use.

Dhiru Gajera, who was elected in 2002 on a BJP ticket from Surat North seat, developed differences with Modi and resigned from the party last week. He will now contest on a Congress ticket. Zadaphia, second-in-command among the BJP rebels, is also a Patidar diamond merchant, although he is based in Ahmedabad.

Pitted against Gajera is Nanu Vanani, a former president of the Surat Diamond Association SDA, from the BJP.

8220;The diamond industry is with the BJP8212;like a wall. If one or two bricks fall off, it won8217;t mean any loss for the party,8217;8217; he says on his fight against a fellow diamond merchant.

Some of the prominent Modi-backers include SDA8217;s C.P. Vanani, Indian Diamond Institute8217;s Chandrakant Sanghvi, Sevanti Shah, Mathur Savani, and Govind Dholakia. In Ahmedabad, the former Ahmedabad Diamond Association President, Vallabhbhai Patel, is in line to get a ticket from one of the Ahmedabad city seats.