Mumbai: The Shiv Sena — in a move that caught political observers off guard — has picked Hardik Patel, the firebrand leader of Gujarat’s Patidar agitation, to campaign for its Gujarati candidate in a bid to split the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) core vote bank ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Council (BMC) elections.
Mr Patel on Tuesday addressed a rally of Biren Limbachya, Sena’s Gujarati candidate who is contesting from Goregaon. It came as a surprise in political circles to see the influential Gujarati leader arrive in Mumbai to campaign against the BJP, a party that has traditionally enjoyed the support of Gujaratis throughout the years.
Also, sources privy to the talks between Sena and Mr Patel told The Asian Age that it was Yuva Sena chief and Thackeray scion Aaditya who brought young Gujarati leader close to Sena. The Asian Age, on September 15, 2016, had reported about an alliance between the Sena and Mr Patel. The association between two young leaders had been cultivated by both sides over the past few months.
It was Mr Thackeray who called on Mr Patel after the latter held a powerful rally in August 2015 in Ahmedabad demanding that the Patel community be given reservation under the OBC quota.
Mr Thackeray, sensing an opportunity, established contact with Mr Patel after the latter had mentioned Sena founder Bal Thackeray as an icon of his in various interviews.
Around the same time, the BJP had started flexing its muscles, indicating that it would go solo in the BMC elections with BJP Member of Parliament and prominent Gujarati voice Kirit Somaiya making allegations against the Sena related to corruption in the BMC. The Sena leadership had anticipated the BJP’s plan to defame the Marathi-oriented party ahead of the BMC elections and to counter the BJP’s attack, Sena started chalking out a strategy, which includes broadening its base among communities that have been close to the BJP. The Gujarati community in particular, which has been a decisive factor in 40-odd wards, is the Sena’s chief target.
Sources said that, the BJP being a common target, Mr Thackeray and Mr Patel decided to help each other out. Using his contacts in the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, Mr Patel started influencing his friends and colleagues in Mumbai into leaving the BJP and joining Sena. Meanwhile, Sena has started establishing contact with community leaders.
Sources also confirmed that Mr Thackeray had invited Mr Patel to be present for Sena’s campaigning in Mumbai, but Mr Patel was reluctant initially. Finally, both leaders found a way: Mr Patel would address the rally of Sena’s Gujarati candidate.
When asked about Sena’s attempt to split the Gujarati votes, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “It shows the Sena’s nervousness. The Gujarati community will not go to Sena just because its has brought Hardik here. Our candidate, Harsh Patel, is capable of tackling Hardik Patel.”
Box: Poll strategies
Keen observers of the Gujarati community in Mumbai don’t foresee Mr Patel’s arrival in Mumbai as having a negative impact on the polls. “Though many Gujaratis in Mumbai are Patidars, Hardik will have no impact in the BMC polls because his agitation in Gujarat has not picked up as per expectations,” said senior journalist Satish Soni.
Box: Sena’s new face
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel would be his party's face in Gujarat Assembly polls. He said that the saffron party’s alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra is on its “notice period.”
