BJP, Cong rework social engineering formulas as Gujarat battle draws closer

Twenty-two years on, a struggling BJP and a resurgent Congress are both trying to rework their time-tested ‘social engineering’ formulations in Gujarat, even as the Election Commission gets set to announce poll dates for the State Assembly.

With the political mood in Gujarat fluctuating wildly everyday, the outcome of the polls remains anybody’s guess. But the BJP may have to work hard to retain its strongest fortress, what with the Congress adopting its weapons and tactics for the first time in over two decades. The BJP does appear jittery, with its strong Patidar support base seen slipping away.

In the space of just two days, it was left red-faced when Nikhil Savani, an erstwhile Hardik Patel supporter, resigned from the BJP within two weeks of joining it and Naresh Patel, another Hardik acolyte, accused the BJP of trying to buy him out.

The BJP is trying every trick to keep the Patidars in good humour and charges and counter-charges have become the new normal now.

Perhaps as a diversionary tactic, the Vijay Rupani government on Monday hastily appointed chairpersons and members to 18 boards and corporations.

With its vikas plank going berserk, and the demonetisation and GST moves annoying its traditional support base among small traders, and multiple social movements frittering away its social engineering gains since 2015, the ruling BJP is going back to the drawing board, offering Hindutva-plus-vikas.

The Congress is also trying to rejig its social engineering of the 1980s with a Hinduism-plus tinge, attempting a rainbow coalition of social groups in a bid to outsmart the incumbent.

Both the parties are reworking their strategies by doing some ‘reverse’ engineering and re-engineering as they try to snatch groups from each other — the Congress wooing the Patidars and others, the BJP wooing the tribals. Meanwhile, Hardik declared his resolve to make Gujarat BJP-free but refrained from joining hands with the Congress, apparently to extract a promise to provide a share in the quota pie to the Patidars.

The BJP’s principal support base since 1995 comprised the small traders, Patidars, the urban upper castes, rich farmers and business and industry community.

After the Vaghela rebellion of 1996, its ‘social engineering’ had brought in the Dalits, tribals and other marginalised groups that became staunch BJP supporters until 2014.

Influential sections of these groups are now up in arms against the BJP: the Patidars on the reservation issue, the Dalits on the Una atrocities issue, rich farmers on the farm loan waiver issue, trading, business and industry captains on demonetisation and GST.

On the other hand, the Congress is trying to revive its KHAM (Kshatriyas, Adivasis, Harijans and Muslims) magic, which won it a big win in 1985 under Madhavsinh Solanki.

Now his son, Bharatsinh Solanki, as Gujarat Congress chief, is trying to attract more groups into the fold. Last week, he openly invited Hardik Patel, OBC-SC-ST Ekta Manch Convenor Alpesh Thakore and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani to join the Congress.

The BJP, hitherto complacent and self-righteous, is relying on the magic it believes PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah will be able to put together in the run-up to the elections.

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