Congress will win 100-105 seats: Hardik Patel

AHMEDABAD: Reminding their community about the ‘martyrdom’ of 14 Patel youths, the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) on Thursday made fervent emotional appeals to mobilise a sizeable chunk of electors against the BJP. Patidars comprise 14% of Gujarat’s total population. In Ahmedabad and Mehsana, PAAS made this appeal mainly in Patidar-dominated seats.
Even Hardik urged the community’s members to “vote for change” and “vote against the people who had killed and imposed atrocities on our people”.
“I am confident that the Congress overall will win between 100 to 105 seats across the state,” he told TOI.
“Insofar as the first phase only is concerned, the Congress will win 52 to 55 seats out of 89 where polls were held while in the second phase, the Congress will win 42 to 45 seats out of 93,” Hardik said.
The anger among Patidars was palpable in areas of Ahmedabad and Mehsana dominated by members of the community.
Patidars (mainly youths and women) openly talked about their ‘secret ballot’ in favour of the Congress in Vatva, Nikol, Thakkarbapanagar, Bapunagar, Ghatlodia and Sabarmati constituencies in Ahmedabad. Patidar-dominated areas of Mehsana, the epicentre of the quota stir, also witnessed long queues at almost all the polling stations. PAAS members could be seen ferrying people to the polling booths.
In many areas, cars of Patels were seen with stickers asking Patidars not to forget the martyrdom of 14 youths killed in police action during the quota agitation. PAAS leader Hardik, too, tweeted his picture showing the voting ink-mark asking people to “vote for change, vote for Gujarat”.
Later Hardik also posted a video from his house in Viramgam. “I appropriately used my right to vote. I came to my place in Viramgam after a year to vote against the persons who were egoistic and arrogant and had inflicted atrocities on our people and killed many of them,” Hardik says in the video.
A third-year B.Com student, Viral Patel, voted at Madhav School in Nirant crossroads in the area. Viral is a resident of Vastral which falls in Vatva constituency with Patel votes comprising nearly 16% of the total.
“We had seen two members of our community being killed by the police during the quota violence. So far, no action has been taken against the guilty cops. I want the system to be changed and it will happen with change in government,” Viral Patel said.
A man and his son were killed allegedly in police firing on August 26, 2015, at Nirant crossroads.
Geeta Patel, leader of PAAS women’s wing who voted along with her husband at Vastral for Vatva assembly seat, said that the Congress will get a majority in Gujarat.
“If the BJP doesn’t rig the polls by EVM tampering, then we will definitely see change and Congress will come to power,” Geeta Patel said. Incidentally, she had contested civic body polls on Congress ticket in Vasral in 2015.
Some PAAS members also accused the police of favouring the ruling party as cops had made supporters of PAAS remove their caps carrying the slogan, ‘Jai Sardar’.
In Nikol constituency, which has 26% Patel population,Congress district president Ghanshyam Patel claimed that Patidar anger may harm BJP’s prospects in the seat.
“There was widespread violence and atrocities here during the quota stir. This will be reflected in the voting,” Ghanshyam Patel said.
Nikol constituency has 26% Patel population. BJP workers’ table had very few people outside the polling booth in Shaheed Veer Mangal Pandey Hall at Nikol. In Nikol, sitting BJP MLA Jagdish Panchal is taking on the Congress candidate Indravijaysinh Gohil.
Congress candidate and lawyer Babu Mangukia is contesting against BJP minister Vallabh Kakadia in Thakkarbapanagar which has 18% Patidar votes. This is among the seats which had seen violence during the quota stir.
The constituency had a charged atmosphere with posters showing messages of ‘Patidar martyrs’ pasted on the walls, including one outside the house of a custodial death victim Shwetang Patel. The counters of the BJP and Congress were set up outside the lane of Shwetang’s house.
Shwetang’s mother, Prabhaben Patel, said Vallabhbhai (the BJP candidate) had visited their house thrice this week. “He had come even this morning but when my son died, he came after three days. How can I vote for the party which took my innocent son’s life?” Prabhaben said.
Dharmik Malviya, PAAS leader from Surat, said they had camped in the city to mobilise Patidars and ensure BJP’s defeat as this is a do or die battle for us.
In Mehsana, PAAS convener Suresh Thakare said that the Congress had a fair chance but as Lalji Patel, convener of Sardar Patel Group (SPG), has been campaigning in favour of the BJP, the battle may prove tough battle for both the parties.