While the rest of the country discusses and debates seat sharing-agreements and coalition arrangements,the poll scene in Gujarat appears to be rather predictable. The state remains saffronised and the BJP Modi-fied,even as the Congress struggles as ever in a divided house,seeking leaders and party workers alike. Except that two of the BJPs 26 Lok Sabha candidates Bhavsinh Rathod and Somji Damor from the reserved constituencies of Patan and Dahod,respectively happened to be Congressmen until just a short while ago. The BJP in Gujarat,of course,does not admit that it did not have befitting candidates for the two seats of Dahod and Patan within its ranks,while the Congress minimises the impact of the defections. And in this era of crossover politics,it is tempting to not think much further of it,but in Gujarat,this development,of the BJP opting for these sidelined Congressmen just before parliamentary elections,speaks volumes. The BJP has dominated electoral outcomes at all levels from civic body polls to Assembly and general elections for more than a decade in Gujarat. To beat anti-incumbency,Chief Minister Narendra Modis choice of fresh faces is always a prominent feature of the partys list of candidates an experiment that has reaped electoral success. So it was no surprise when the BJPs sitting MPs were axed and it was announced that more than 50 per cent of the partys candidates would be contesting the Lok Sabha polls for the first time. But there was nothing usual about the two BJP candidates for Patan and Dahod,both Congressmen who changed their party affiliation just before the BJP announced its candidates in the state. So what drove the BJPs decision,considering that both these leaders have been branded as rejects by the Congress? Patan in north Gujarat draws attention for several reasons. It is home to Anandi Patel,state Revenue Minister and close confidante of Modi. Earlier a general seat,it now is reserved for Scheduled Castes post-delimitation. Though won by the BJPs Mahesh Kanodia,an ageing Gujarati actor,in 2004,Patan caused much embarrassment to the state Government following the gang rape of a Dalit schoolgirl by six of her teachers. The face-saver remains the fast track court trial,in which all the six accused were sentenced to life imprisonment this month. The BJP in such a situation and with an eye on the the predominant Dalit/Thakur community in the constituency found hope in Congress MLA Bhavsinh Rathod. In the 2007 Assembly polls,Rathod had defeated the BJPs Dilip Thakore,a state minister in Sami Assembly constituency in Patan district. The BJP overlooked the fact that just a day before the tickets were to be finalised,Rathod had said in the BJPs Gujarat office that he could remain with the Congress if he was allotted the Patan LS seat. The BJPs choice for Dahod,the northernmost tribal seat in the state,was veteran Congressman Somji Damor who has had quite a long innings here. Dahod was won by the BJPs Babu Katara who had unseated the Congresss seven-time MP Somji Damor in 1999. In the 2004 polls,Katara won against the Congresss Prabha Taviad by a slim margin of 300-odd votes,which is still being contested in Gujarat High Court. But after Katara was caught in an immigration scam in Delhi,the BJP left him in the cold and its choice of candidate became Somji Damor. His name was announced Damor,who had been upset with the Congress for denying him the ticket in 2004,flirted with the NCP for a while before returned to the party during the 2007 Assembly polls. The ageing politician,known once for his breweries in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and running educational institutes in tribal Gujarat,has joined the BJP along with a coterie of followers. Meanwhile,leader of Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil mocked the BJPs list. Look at the BJPs candidates. Why are they selecting those who were discarded by us and the people? Why cant the BJP put up its own people? he told mediapersons after the BJP announced its list.
