NEW DELHI: Trouble might grow for Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel whose government is facing another controversy over flogging of four Dalit men for skinning a cow. In the past two days, protests have taken a violent turn, claiming the life of a policeman and igniting fresh worries within the BJP about its political fallout in the next year’s assembly elections.
The BJP leadership has been discussing pros and cons of replacing Patel ahead of the crucial polls, and the latest round of protests will only provide more ammunition to her detractors in the BJP — both in Gandhinagar and Delhi.
Patel’s latest worries follow last year’s protests by the Patidar community over reservation and the arrest of its leader Hardik Patel. The agitation had cost the BJP in the local body elections, where it suffered a jolt in the rural areas for the first time in a decade.
Between 2010 and 2015, the BJP’s vote share declined by about 10% in district panchayat poll and slipped from 48.51 % to 42.32% in elections to taluka panchayats. The BJP’s vote share also declined by about 3 per cent in elections for 56 municipalities and a little over 1% in polls for six municipal corporations.
Patel has problem at two fronts. The electoral reverses and administrative l apses reflect the lack of her grip over administration in sharp contrast to Modi’s 12-year rule. Also, it emboldens her rivals in the party, who are asking for her exit ahead of next year’s polls.
{{/usCountry}}Patel has problem at two fronts. The electoral reverses and administrative l apses reflect the lack of her grip over administration in sharp contrast to Modi’s 12-year rule. Also, it emboldens her rivals in the party, who are asking for her exit ahead of next year’s polls.
{{/usCountry}}Modi chose Patel over his trusted aide Amit Shah, now BJP chief, to succeed him in Gujarat. The 74-year-old leader has since struggled to step into the big shoes of Modi. She turns 75 this November and Delhi’s power corridor is abuzz with reports about her power tussle with Shah, who apparently wants a leadership change.
Patel has in different interviews denied any trust deficit with Shah. The BJP chief, too, on many occasions denied having any ambition to return to Gujarat.
But, sources close to the CM suspect a foul play in Dalit protests. “Is it mere coincidence that protests over the July 11 incident (Dalit flogging) spread only on July 18 evening? There could be more to it than what meets the eye,” said a source close to the CM. The chief minister’s office in Gandhinagar and her media managers in Delhi have been circulating the list of actions – such as the arrest of accused, compensation to victims and others – which Patel has taken to deal with the situation. Patel’s loyalists blame a section within the party for creating ‘wrong perception’ about her in Delhi.