Gujarat | Split of Banaskantha district hurts Congress in last bastion

Better administration may be the professed reason for the recent move of the BJP government in Gujarat to carve out the new district of Vav-Tharad from Banaskantha district. However, it's far more political than that — it's seen as a sharp blow to derail the Congress in its last remaining bastion in the state.

Banaskantha had been a traditional Congress stronghold. Naturally, the move is widely seen as an attempt to divide the grand old party’s vote bank.

The 34th district in Gujarat will have its headquarters at Tharad.

Banaskantha’s importance

The undivided Banaskantha had 14 talukas that formed nine Assembly seats. Of this, the BJP has been strong in only three talukas (Vav, Tharad and Dheesa), where it won three seats.

On the other hand, the Congress was traditionally strong in the other talukas and six Assembly seats.

In the 2017 Assembly battle, the Congress won six of the undivided Banaskantha district’s nine seats. In the 2019 local polls, despite losing most of its seats in Gujarat, the Congress retained 90 per cent of the seats in Banaskantha.

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Congress and Banaskantha

In the 2022 state elections, when the Congress could win only 17 seats in Gujarat, it won four from Banaskantha alone. Again, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress won only one of the 26 seats. The solitary seat – that of Banaskantha.

There, Geniben Thakor of the Congress defeated the BJP’s Rekha Chaudhary by a margin of over 30,000 votes.

Now, of the 14 talukas in undivided Banaskantha, eight — Vav, Bhabhar, Tharad, Dhanera, Suigam, Lakhni, Deodar and Kankrej — will now form the Vav-Tharad district. The remaining six — Palanpur, Danta, Amirgadh, Dantiwada, Vadgam and Deesa — will remain in Banaskantha.

Splitting Congress votes

Talukas considered Congress strongholds, such asSuigam, Lakhni, Deodar and Kankrej will now be in the new district, clearly dividing the original voter base of Banaskantha.

Noticeably, the politics of Banaskantha revolves around three OBC castes — Thakors, Chaudharys and Maldharis — followed by Muslims and Dalits who hold a majority in four talukas (Suigam, Dhanera, Siddpur and Vadgam).

Traditionally, the Congress has had the support of all the caste groups barring the Chaudharys.

Rise of Geniben

The Chaudharys, who form a majority in Vav and Tharad talukas, have been long-time supporters of the BJP. Veteran BJP leader Shankar Chaudhary has been holding sway in the region.

However, in 2017, Congress leader Geniben Thakor, who contested Assembly elections for the first time from Vav, defeated Chaudhary from his traditional seat.

In 2022, Chaudhary contested from Tharad and won while Geniben retained the Vav seat.

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BJP on backfoot

In 2024, the BJP’s Rekhaben Chaudhary, wife of a BJP local leader close to Shankar Chaudhary, lost the Banaskantha parliamentary seat to Geniben.

“The consecutive loss pushed the BJP and Shankar Chaudhary to a corner in the district. By dividing Banaskantha, the BJP has made sure to divide the Thakor and Maldhari votes that were the vote bank of the Congress,” said Indira Hirway, an author and political analyst, told The Federal.

“This move will save the face of the BJP and Shankar Chaudhary and is aimed at diminishing the Congress in its only remaining bastion in the state,” she added.

Government justifies split

The BJP government, however, does not agree.

“Banaskantha district is the biggest in the state in terms of talukas. It is also the second biggest in terms of area. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has taken this decision in the larger public interest to ensure that people there get facilities easily,” said Ruhsikesh Patel, government spokesperson and the state Health Minister.

The decision hasn’t gone well with the residents of Banaskantha.

On January 6, days after the decision was announced, businessmen of Dhanera, Kankrej and Deodar took part in a protest led by Congress leaders. Local markets remained closed and people came out on the Banaskantha-Ahmedabad highway.

In Dhanera, former Congress MLAs Nathabhai Patel from Dhanera joined the protest and said: “People of Dhanera are unhappy as the government did not consult anyone. The government will have to face people’s ire if the decision is not revoked."

MLA voices concern

“We do not want to go with Vav-Tharad because we are close to Palanpur. Dhanera has been historically attached with Banaskantha and people want to remain that way,” he added.

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Mavji Desai, an independent MLA of Dhanera who also joined the protest, told The Federal: “People do not want to travel to Tharad for official work once the new district is created. It is not convenient as far as the location of the taluka is concerned.”

The police detained some of the protesters. Tension is still brewing in Dhanera, Kankrej and Dheesa, that have been included in the new Vav-Tharad district.

The markets in these areas have been closed since January 5 evening as part of a protest shutdown. Following the protests, MLA Mavji Desai wrote to Chief Minister Patel, requesting him to cancel the decision.

Speaker backs new district

Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary has come out strongly in favour of Banaskantha’s split.

He told a public meeting in Tharad that this was not the division of a district but the formation of a new district.

"This will lead to development in the border areas. It is the formation of a new district, like a mother giving birth to a child," he said.