Those at war with the government include farmers, pastoralists, tribals, doctors, teachers, forestry workers, ASHA workers, front line medical workers, former military personnel, lunch service workers, all government contract workers, and some others.
Ever since he became Chief Minister of Gujarat and then Prime Minister, the BJP’s favorite slogan has been “Modi hai to mumkin hai”. If Modi is here, anything is possible.
But perhaps in the 2017 state elections, the BJP must have realized that anything is possible with Modi’s presence.
This rings true as the party faces a tough 2022 election under a different chief minister. Behavior against the incumbent that emerged during the previous regime of Vijay Rupani and escalated during and after the COVID-19 crisis has continued under the leadership of Bhupendra Patel, who was introduced just a year ago.
In 2017, the BJP fell to double digits, or 99, for the first time in its 30-year victory in Gujarat. In other words, it lost 7 out of 182 seats. Needless to say, this is also the first time Congress has seen a glimmer of hope in the state, its very difficult task. But it is not.
Thus, Gujarat sees a serious rival in the party of Aam Aadmi, whose entry into the battlefield has clearly opened the door for opposition. But the important thing is that over time, the nascent party in Delhi became the notorious performance of the notorious elephant even in the BJP room.
Forget opposition for a moment, despite an impressive record of victories since the 1995 election, AAP publicly and privately with congressional leaders see an opportunity in 2022, a chance to reappear after 2017?
Notably, this is the second parliamentary election for the Gujarati BJP under a new chief minister since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014.
In the eight years since 2014, the BJP has had three chief ministers: Anandi bin Patel, Vijay Rupani and now Bhupendra Patel. Patel and Rupani – his last and entire cabinet – were fired for being clearly opposed to the incumbent. Other than a few fallen faces, there was no sound of protest. Why? Well modi high on mumkin high.
The BJP fought in the 2015 local government elections under Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, the first since Modi, and reported that after Hadik Patel, under the shadow of Patidar’s (Hardik Patel) instigation, there was a major collapse in good areas in the countryside. and suburban areas. Anandiben was asked to resign and Rupani was brought in. But everything is ready for 2017 – the Centenary Congress triumphs on the shoulders of a 22-year-old.
The party, led by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, narrowly contested the 2017 parliamentary elections, narrowly losing but winning thanks to Modi’s radical Sons of the Earth movement. It might just be because Modi is there.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP held all 26 seats by an incredible margin of at least 125,000 votes. Even though Rupani was the chief minister at the time, all the votes went to Modi and not to the BJP or Rupani. Even if the party does not take place, victory in 2019 will be no different.
So far, the BJP is in worse shape than it was in 2017. This is not so much because the AAP or Congress are ranting about their position, but because there is a general sense of unease in the state. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel faced 30 major and minor riots from all walks of life, including large numbers of civil servants, police and Lok Rakshak Dal employees from various sectors.
Those at war with the government include farmers, pastoralists, tribesmen, doctors, teachers, forestry workers, ASHA workers, frontline healthcare workers risking their lives during the COVID-19 crisis, state exam applicants, auto rickshaw drivers, owners and suppliers. roadside egg and non-vegetarian restaurants, ex-military personnel, vidya sahayaki (contract teachers), lunch workers and all government contractors.
All this is in addition to the general campaign for the introduction of the old pension scheme covering all state employees.
They have a variety of demands, but the most common ones are renegotiating pay levels – waiting – and eliminating contracts or outsourcing systems, as most of these employees work full time but have worked part time for years. The staff gets paid the same. These staff members also include government teachers.
After the first BJP government took office in 1995, the contract outsourcing system became popular and has since expanded to cover almost all government departments, including health and education. It is worth noting that the former government of Vijrupani also faced the same fierce agitation from civil servants who demanded the same. The riots also came amid the 2017 Bharatiya Janata party’s precipitous fall to 99 seats, though they may have been overshadowed by the riots of Hardik Patel, joined by fellow backward class leaders Alpesh Thakor and Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani in the ranks.
Jignesh Mewani, Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakore meet relatives of Dalit activist Bhanubhai Wankar. Photo: PTI
To make matters worse, the BJP is screwed up this time by the peasant faction of her own brothers Safran Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The BKS has been at war with the state government for months now and has 26 demands in its charter.
BKS farmer leaders staged a 27-day indefinite sit-in in the state capital of Gandhinagar as NPP chairman J.P. Naddah held a “Namo Hedut Panchayat” (Narendra Modi Farmers’ Congress) nearby. September 20 capital. The BCS representative was not called.
“Since independence, only Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tirelessly supported the cause of farmers, while others have only spoken out,” Nada told a large audience of farmers, a spokesman for BCS leaders who asked for a meeting. The regiment was tied up and taken away in a police car.
They were released only after the end of Nadda’s Khedut Panchayat, which was organized to convince ordinary BJPs to settle in Gujarat and inform the farmers of the plans the prime minister had made for them.
“Surprisingly, the BJP staff did not allow us to enter the premises, despite the fact that it was a kisan panchayat. We had an argument with them, but then the police came and took us away until we were released after a meeting in Nada,” said Sah Prachar from BKS. Pramukh (Co-Chair of Gujarat State Communications) Mansooh Patoliya.
In a press release dated September 20, the BKS leader said, “J. P. Nadda loudly spoke about the great contribution of the Prime Minister to the farmers, but did not meet us when we campaigned for 27 days in Gandhinagar with 26 demands.”
The press release added: “This is the final warning to the government to stop misleading farmers and address our critical issues. If they remain indifferent, there will be high costs and the government will suffer consequences.”
Gujarat has also seen extreme unrest in recent months among junior police officers and quasi-cops such as Lok Rakshak Dal (LRD) as their families have taken to the streets demanding changes in the pay scale for years.
AAP head Arvind Kejriwal took advantage of this by reassuring the Gujarat police that they would be paid a salary comparable to India’s best police. The beneficial effect of these words is so great that many police officers use photos of Arvind Kejriwal as their WhatsApp photos.
This prompted Bhupendra Patel’s government to immediately announce a Rs 5.5 crore package for them, although this was taken into consideration given that the allotment was only a temporary measure and not a revision of their wages.
The government of Gujarat was recently forced to withdraw a strict stray cattle law that was widely debated until midnight on the last day of the budget meeting on March 31, 2022. After the law was passed, a huge uproar broke out among livestock farmers, forcing the government to suspend work. Still dissatisfied, the Maldharis (cattlemen) threatened to boycott the BJP in the elections. This forced the government to withdraw the law in a two-day special session on 21 September.
Similarly, the government first suspended an interstate project to connect the Par-Tapi-Narmada River to Maharashtra, but outrage from the tribal people of South Gujarat caused them to abandon the project. The project was announced with great fanfare by Federal Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2022-23 budget.
Darshan Desai is the founder and editor of the Gujarat Development News Network (DNN). His email is darshan207@gmail.com.
Post time: Nov-01-2022