Rajkot: Seething over remark on Kshatriyas, Congress' Dhanani takes on BJP's Rupala

History will repeat itself after 22 years in Gujarat, as the Congress’s Paresh Dhanani takes on the BJP’s Parshottam Rupala in Rajkot on May 7.

And, if records are anything to go by, the odds are stacked in favour of the senior Congress leader, adding to the troubles of the BJP veteran who is already in the eye of a storm.

The last time the two Patel leaders had faced off in a poll battle was in 2002. Despite a strong wave of support for Narendra Modi and the BJP in the post-riots phase, Dhanani, then only 26, had turned out to be a giant-killer, beating the then three-time sitting MLA and Agriculture Minister Rupala from the Amreli Assembly seat.

Dhanani’s impeccable record

Not only that, Dhanani, a former leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, is known to have won his seat every time he has been pitted against a BJP stalwart. In the 2012 Assembly polls, he defeated the BJP's Dilip Sanghani, while in 2017, he went on to defeat seven-time MLA, Bavku Undhadh of the BJP, from Amreli.

Therefore, the Congress’s announcement to field Dhanani from Rajkot comes as anything but good news for Rupala, who, along with his party, has been facing severe flak from the Darbar (Kshatriya) community over a remark of his that offended them.

Rupala’s “offensive” remark

Kshatriyas have been protesting against Rupala since the last week of March after a video of one of his speeches went viral.

While addressing a gathering of Dalits in rural Rajkot, Rupala can be heard in the video talking about “roti kapda achar” (a practice wherein Kshatriya kings sought friendly ties and favours from the British by marrying off their daughters to them).

Despite Rupala apologising several times and state BJP chief CR Patil urging the community to end their protests, the Rajputs have refused to let the issue die down.

Several Rajput outfits have protested in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, and Vadodara since March. On April 7, when Rupala held a campaign meeting in Surat to woo the Patels from Rajkot settled in the diamond city, Karni Sena protested and the event had to be cut short. Rupala was whisked away amid heavy police protection.

Show of strength

Again, on Sunday (April 14), in a massive show of strength, about one lakh people of the Kshatriya community gathered in Rajkot district to demand the immediate withdrawal of Rupala  from the Lok Sabha seat.

The community leaders have threatened to intensify the protests and hold another mammoth rally in Ahmedabad after April 19 if the Rupala is not withdrawn from the poll race.

“It is up to the BJP to decide whether it wants Rupala or the support of Rajputs. As far as we are concerned, we have decided that we will not support the BJP

across Gujarat if Rupala stays as the candidate from Rajkot,” said Karansinh Chavda, a community leader, in his speech on Sunday.

Nearly 75 different subgroups of the Rajput community were present at the gathering that brought the city to a standstill. This was second rally by the Kshatriya community in Rajkot against Rupala.

Invoking Mahabharata

Dhanani — who had never lost an election until the 2022 Assembly polls, when he lost Amreli to the BJP as the AAP candidate ate into his votes — had earlier openly expressed his reluctance to contest parliamentary polls this year. As he entered the fray, the Congress veteran said he was contesting the polls “only to face Rupala”.

“My party and I can’t remain silent anymore. Once again, Draupadi is being disrobed in a full court and Bhishma Pitamaha and Guru Drona (Modi and Amit Shah) are watching silently,” said Dhanani.

“I had opted out of the Lok Sabha polls due to personal reasons. But the Rajkot situation has changed the scenario. Due to the offensive remarks made by Rupala, Kshatriya women have been protesting for the past 15 days and demanding that the BJP cancel Rupala’s candidature. But the BJP leadership has remained silent so far,” said the 47-year-old Dhanani.

“I want to request the arrogant Bhishma Pitamah and Guru Drona to break their silence. The situation has compelled me to throw my hat in the ring,” he added.

Rajkot equations

While the Kshatriyas are furious with Rupala, Rajkot’s Patidar community has come out in his support.

Posters and banners, ostensibly put up by the Patels of Rajkot, sprang up in support of Rupala all over the city.

The banners had a photo of Rupala along with Modi, with the message “Hu chu Hindutva sathe, hu chu bhajap sathe, hu chu Modi sathe, hu chu Rupala sathe” ("I am with Hindutva, I am with BJP, I am with Narendra Modi, I am with Parshottam Rupala").

On April 7, the Election Commission officials took those down.

Battle of Patels

Patels comprise around 5 lakh voters of Rajkot, forming the largest electorate, followed by the Koli Patels and Darbars, who account for about 4 lakh voters. Among the Patidars of Rajkot, Leuva Patels form the majority, numbering 3.5 lakhs, while Kadva Patels number around 2 lakhs.

Rupala is a Kadva Patel, while Dhanani is a Leuva Patel leader. With Dhanani now in the race, there is a chance of Leuva Patels backing him. Adding to that, the Kshatriyas are now up in arms against Rupala and have refused to be pacified until the BJP withdraws his candidature.

Noteably, the Kshatriyas have been loyal to the Congress owing to the party’s KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi, Muslim) policy. Up to the 2022 polls, the community had largely voted in favour of the Congress.

BJP faces tricky situation

Maanishi Jani, a Gujarat-based political analyst, said the BJP was indeed on a sticky wicket. “If the BJP succumbs to the ongoing protests of the Rajputs, that might hurt Rupala’s winning prospects from Rajkot, but the Patidars might revolt. Patidars make up around 10 per cent of the total voters of the state, and the last time the community had revolted against the BJP, that is in the 2017 Assembly polls, it was reduced to 99 seats. So, the BJP cannot take that risk,” explained Jani.

Jani added that Dhanani contesting from the seat had just added to the BJP’s trouble, as he would “not only dent the Patel votes but also bag the Rajput votes”.

In this situation, it would be interesting to see how the Koli Patels (OBC) vote, said the analyst. “The community that forms the third largest electoral community in Rajkot seat might be the decisive factor,” added Jani.