Gujarat: Rajputs on the warpath against BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls

The Gujarat BJP’s efforts to pacify the Darbar (Kshatriya/Rajput) community, who are agitating against the recent remarks made against erstwhile rulers of princely states by Union minister and party’s Lok Sabha candidate Poroshottam Rupala, have yielded little results with the protesters demanding the withdrawal of his candidature.

On April 2, members of the community in Vadodara handed over a memorandum against the statements made by Rupala, the BJP candidate from the Rajkot Lok Sabha constituency, to the district collector. Led by women, the protesters chanted slogans and demanded that Rupala be dropped from the Lok Sabha race.

What Rupala said?

While addressing an election campaign in Rajkot on March 22, Rupala had said that the rulers of the erstwhile princely states had bowed down to foreign rulers including the British and even broke bread with them and married off their daughters to the foreigners.

“Even kings and royals bowed down to the British and indulged in ‘roti-beti vyavahar’ (a custom of establishing familial ties by marrying daughters into British families). But this Rukhi Samaj (a Dalit community) did not budge. I salute them for their courage and strength. It is this strength that has kept Sanatana Dharma alive. Jai Bhim,” he had said much to the chagrin of Rajputs.

Following Rupala’s speech, PT Jadeja, the president of the Akhil Gujarat Rajput Yuva Sangh, Padminiba Vala, the president of Mahila Karni Sena, Gujarat, Raj Shekhawat, the chief of Kshatriya Karni Sena Gujarat and JP Jadeja, the president of Karni Sena, Gujarat announced protests across the state.

Even though Rupala has apologised multiple times for his remarks, the community has refused to accept it and has threatened not to vote for the BJP if the minister is not dropped as a candidate. The minister was also forced to address the issue in public at a community event in Rajkot a day after he gave the speech.

Protests break out across state

“The apology given by Rupala was for the satisfaction of the BJP. We are not satisfied by the way the party is handling this issue. Being adamant about fielding a candidate who has made such disgraceful statements against the community will not help BJP,” said a Darbar community member based out of Vadodara.

On the same day, people from the community protesting in Bharuch clashed with the police after the latter tried to stop them from burning an effigy of Rupala. The community then handed over a memorandum to Bharuch resident additional district collector. In Chhota Udepur district, members of the Kshatriya community submitted a memorandum against Rupala at the taluka panchayat office.

In Rajkot three Kshatriya men were arrested for burning Rupala’s effigy on April 1, following which a mob gathered and gheraoed the local police station.

In Amreli, at least three people were injured after supporters of Rupala and Darbar members of the Amreli BJP unit clashed.

“The women of our community are willing to fight the election against Rupala and defeat him. If the BJP does not withdraw his candidature, it will not be good for their party. We not just want Rupala to be withdrawn as Rajkot candidate, but to be kept away from active politics because of his statement,” said Padminiba Vala, president of Mahila Karni Sena, Gujarat.

Case against Rupala; boycotting of poll meets

Amid the protests, local Congress leader Adityasinh Gohil, who hails from the Rajput community, filed a complaint of defamation against Rupala at the Rajkot magistrate’s court.

Raj Shekhawat, the national president of Karni Sena who had joined the BJP in 2020, also resigned from the party in protest against Rupala’s remarks. The party, however, has said that he was not a registered member.

While no amount of apologies from Rupala’s end or cajoling by the BJP have pacified the community, at a meeting of Kshatriyas in Surendranagar on April 1, community leaders decided that Rupala shall not be allowed to hold any election meeting in the district.

Damage control by Gujarat BJP

In a bid to quell the protests, BJP Gujarat president CR Paatil, held a meeting on April 2, with the party’s Darbar leaders in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. He urged the community to forgive Rupala, stating that he has already apologised thrice for his remarks.

Darbar leaders of the BJP – IK Jadeja, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Pradeepsinh Jadeja, Kiritsinh Rana, Balvantsing Rajput, Jydrathsinh Parmar and Kesridevsinh Jhala attended the meeting at Paatil’s residence in Surat.

“Though he (Rupala) has apologised thrice for his remarks, Darbar community is still angry. So, to find a solution, a meeting in the presence of our chief minister and party’s Rajput leaders was held today and another meeting is slated for tomorrow (April 3) at Gandhinagar. The party thinks that Rupala has already apologised so the community should show generosity and forgive him,” Paatil said after the meeting.

Repeated apologies

Later, Jayrajsinh Jadeja, former BJP MLA from Gondal assembly constituency in Rajkot district and a Kshatriya leader and Rupala held a meeting with some prominent Kshatriya leaders of Saurashtra, including Kesaridevsinh Jhala, member of erstwhile royal family of Wankaner and BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Kiritsinh Rana, and Limbdi MLA and state BJP vice-president Mahendrasinh Sarvaiya. Rupala apologised to all the Darbar leaders once again at the meeting.

“I regret that such words slipped out of my mouth. In my entire political career, I have never had to retract a comment. But I am sorry that it happened during the election and that too at an event that was not scheduled for me. After a day’s events, I had gone on my own to listen to Karshan Sagathiya’s ‘bhajans’ and I got an opportunity to make a speech at the event. The platform was not meant for such remarks. With folded hands, I apologise to the Darbar community not for me but for the fact that my party is suffering because of me,” Rupala said at the meeting in Gondal.

Darbar-Patidar rivalry

Rupala belongs to the Patidar community that has been the loyal vote bank of the BJP for three decades now. The Rajya Sabha member has been given a ticket from Rajkot, a seat dominated by the Darbars, as the party dropped Mohan Kundaraiya, a Darbar leader, and two-time sitting MP from the seat.

Darbars or Kshatriyas are a land-owning community, who mostly dominate the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The community that once used to rule most of the princely states across Gujarat, now form about 7 per cent of the state’s electorate.

Patidars and Darbar have historically been rival communities in Gujarat.

“There always have been caste fault lines between the Darbars and Patels of Gujarat. Rupala’s remarks might have reignited the caste fault lines in the state,” said Maanishi Jani, a political analyst.

“In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Patidars, who account for about 17 per cent of the electoral population, challenged the Kashtriya dominance in society and politics. After the Congress came up with KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Advivasi and Muslim) as a winning caste based social formula, it cornered the Patels in the state. Eventually the Patels gravitated towards the BJP and took the party to power for the first time in 1995. Since then, Patidars have emerged as a highly influential community in the state, both socially and politically. The community now dominates the government as well as the ruling BJP. The Darbars, on the other hand, were sidelined over the years,” he added.