Skip to main content

Delhi told: Modi detractors in Gujarat BJP close to ex-CM Keshubhai Patel behind Patidar reservation stir

Patidar leader Hardik Patel, 22
A well-informed official source close to the establishment has conveyed to the Government of India, particularly the Prime Minister’s Office and the intelligence-gathering network working for it, that Narendra Modi’s former detractors in Gujarat BJP are behind the current Patidar (or Patel) caste stir for reservation that has engulfed the state.
The source has told Counterview on condition of anonymity that, in the report, sent to Delhi, it has been “specifically mentioned that circles to top Modi detractor and his predecessor in Gujarat, ex-chief minister Keshubhai Patel” were backing the Patels’ well-represented rallies, whether it is North Gujarat towns, or Surat, or Ahmedabad.
The source said, the report sent to Delhi “specifically mentions” a few of the names of diamond tycoons of Surat, belonging to the Patel community, who had been close to Keshubhai Patel’s earlier anti-Modi movements and have been funding his supporters even now.
It is well known that these diamond tycoons, belonging to Amreli district of the Saurashtra region and settled in Surat, had all along strongly supported Keshubhai Patel in organizing an aborted Patel farmers’ movement during the second half of 2000s.
The report has been sent even as political circles, both of the BJP and the Congress, are keeping their fingers crossed as to who is behind the Patidar reservation stir. While maintaining that the entire movement is spontaneous, there is a sense of frustration: That the the stir has metamorphosed into a major mobilization. AT least a big section of the BJP leaders has begun sounding sympathetic to it.
Gujarat BJP chief RC Faldu, belonging to the same Patel sub-caste to which Keshubhai Patel belongs, Leuva, has said that the state government should “look into” the demand for quota for Patels and other poor families from other upper caste communities.
“Taking into account the sensitivity of the issue, we have told the government it is high time that it gave a serious thought to the difficulties faced not only by children of the Patidars, but also by children of economically backward families of other upper castes”, Faldu has been quoted as saying in Rajkot, which is the business nerve-centre of Saurashtra.
Earlier, a speaking at a ceremony in Dhari town of Amreli district, local BJP MLA Nalin Kotadiya, who had joined Keshubhai Patel’s now disbanded Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP), declared his open support to Patel agitation.
“Having been born in a Patel family and having been elected MLA by votes of Patels, it is my moral duty to stand by them. Therefore, if Patel community wishes that I should resign as an MLA and support them openly, I am ready to do so,” Kotadiya told a news channel. Kotadia also belongs to Keshubhai’s Leuva Patel sub-caste.
A senior politician from Saurashtra, meanwhile, told Counterview that the Patel reservation stir was “largely spontaneous” and “nobody was supporting it from outside.” When told that a report had been sent to Delhi which identivies circles close to Keshubhai Patel were behind the stir, he insisted, “This could be to please the masters that the real 'culprits' had been found.”
According to this politician, the main leader, a young man, Hardik Patel, 22, who is convener of the Sardar Patel Sevadal which is leading the stir, was on social media and supporting Congress MLA fighting from Viramgam constituency in Ahmedabad district, Tejashtree Patel, during the assembly elections in 2012-end.
“Very few in Viramgam saw Hardik’s social media comment, yet the Congress offered him to be in the party, which he refused”, the politician said, adding, “After Tejashreeben Patel was elected, Hardik, who belongs to a well-to-do family, began taking revenge from the BJP: The family was harassed post-polls for his support to the Congress.”

Comments

TRENDING

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor. 

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.