In Vadgam, Jignesh Mevani caught up in a four-way tussle, has work cut out

The division of Dalit votes and a rift between the electorally crucial Chaudhary community and the ruling party may end up influencing the election.

Vadgam is a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) communities and is one of the few constituencies in Gujarat where Muslims form the largest chunk of the electorate, followed by the Chaudhary community, Dalits, Thakors, and Darbars. There are 2.94 lakh voters in the seat that is considered to be a Congress bastion. Since 1995, the Congress has won the seat four times.

The late Fakirbhai Vaghela, who was among the BJP’s top Dalit leaders and was also a minister, got elected from Vadgam in 2007 after defeating the Congress’s Dolat Parmar, another senior Dalit leader. But he lost to Manilal Vaghela in 2012. Five years later, Mevani, backed by the Congress, defeated the BJP’s Vijay Chakravarti by more than 19,000 votes. Last year, Mevani pledged his allegiance to the Congress and was eventually appointed its state working president this July.

The AAP, meanwhile, has fielded veteran Dalit activist Dalpat Bhatiya. Bhatiya is a well-respected figure in Banaskantha district. Till Tuesday evening, the AIMIM had not announced its candidate from Vadgam.

Division of votes

A significant factor in the election is likely to be the division of Dalit votes, especially Vankars and Rohits. While Mevani and Bhatiya are from the Rohit community, Vaghela is a Vankar. A majority of the Dalit voters in Vadgam are from the Vankar community, followed by Rohits.

Another incident that has added an interesting dimension to the electoral battle is the arrest of Chaudhary community leader and former Minister of State for Home Vipul Chaudhary in an alleged case of corruption in September. This has caused a rift between the community and the BJP.

The Chaudhary-led Arbuda Sena, a social organisation representing the community, has come out against the ruling party while protesting the arrest. They have threatened the BJP with consequences during the elections if Chaudhary, who is currently in Sabarmati Central Jail, is not released.

The Chaudhary community wields a lot of influence in Banaskantha district, including Vadgam, and is the numerically largest community in Vadgam after Muslims. Arbuda Sena members protested outside a venue in Vadgam that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel attended in connection with the party’s Gaurav Yatra.

Vadgam goes to poll in the second phase on December 5. The last date for filing nomination papers is November 17. Mevani filed his nomination on Tuesday. He was joined by his friend and Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar.