Gujarat Gaurav Yatra: Gujarat is a BJP bastion and the Bhartiya Janata Party has set a high target for itself. The Bhartiya Janata Party this time aims at winning more than 149 seats and that too with “a record margin”. To fulfil this, the BJP needs to secure every fortress within the state.
After ensuring that the influential Patidar community stands by them, the saffron party is now eyeing the tribal community. While the media is going gaga over the Bharat Jodo Yatra, planned to launch Rahul Gandhi once again, the BJP has launched a yatra in Gujarat (Gujarat Gaurav Yatra) that will help it secure the last bastion in the state.
Understanding the ground situation of Gujarat
The assembly elections in the state of Gujarat are due for the later part of the year. If we look at the current composition of the state assembly, the Bhartiya Janata Party stands strong with 99 MLAs in the house, the Congress has 79. In the 2017 elections, the BJP had come down from 115 to 99, crossing the majority mark of 92 with a very narrow margin. Congress however, maintained the 2012 tally, and only grew to 77 from 61.
Read More: Kejriwal will help the BJP win Gujarat emphatically
In the run up to the assembly elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party has intensified its campaign, even when the other are still being awaited to come out of their slumbers.
BJP flags off 3rd Gujarat Gaurav Yatra
In an important development, the BJP has launched the ‘Gujarat Gaurav Yatra’ on Wednesday October 12, from the temple town of Bahucharaji in Mehsana. The Gujarat Gaurav Yatra will include some big faces campaigning for the party in the state, like national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with the state leaders, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, state president C R Paatil, former CM Vijay Rupai, former deputy. It will conclude on October 20 at Mandvi touching the crucial bases of the party.
While flagging off the yatra, Nadda asserted that the Gaurav Yatra is to establish India’s pride Gujarat as the Gangotri of India, claiming that the state is striding ahead under the leadership of PM Modi. The route needs special focus as the longest route runs from Unai to Ambaj, stretched over 490 kms in the eastern region where majorly the tribal districts are concentrated.
This is not the first such yatra launched by the BJP. Rather, in 2002, the then CM of the state, Narendra Modi, took out the first Gaurav Yatra ahead of the Gujarat assembly elections. That year BJP registered a crushing victory by winning 127 out of 182 seats.
Gujarat Gaurav Yatra was next organised for the second time in 2017 in the election year, after the Patidar Andolan took place in 2015. This time BJP won 99 seats, a battle that was deemed tough for the saffron party.
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Tribals: A crucial vote bank in the state
Political parties have always been keen on wooing the tribals of Gujarat, as they account for 15 per cent of the population. This implies that one-seventh of the state population is Adivasi, concentrated in the eastern region. Gujarat has the fifth-largest Scheduled Tribes (ST) population. There are 27 ST reserved seats in the state. However, the ST population has a crucial influence over 50 assembly seats. Their strength adds to their influence.
Why BJP’s idea to make inroads into the tribal belt will give it an edge
The BJP has been ruling the state since 1995 and its supremacy in the state has been undeterred. However, the party’s performance in the tribal dominated areas was concerning. As, in the last elections, the BJP could just score 9 out of 27 and Congress proved its might in the region by winning 16 seats. In the other constituencies where tribals were influential, BJP’s vote share had fallen down as compared to other urban and semi-urban seats.
Tribal seats are crucial for the BJP if it wishes to achieve its target of 149 seats in the state. The party has been making inroads in the tribal region through door-to-door outreach programmes in the states like Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. The BJP wishes to imply the same in the state of Gujarat as well.
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