Navsarjan Gujarat? Assembly elections saw Dalit-Adivasi-Muslim "anger" against BJP, some visible, some silent

By Martin Macwan*
Elections in Gujarat may be over, yet Navsarjan (resurgence, a term used by Congress during its electoral campaign) for Congress, and worries for BJP, appear to be far from over. Fighting as representatives of deprived communities, Alpesh Thakor, the well-known OBC leader who joined Congress ahead of the just-concluded Assembly polls, and Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani, fighting as Congress-backed Independent, won with comfortable margin, despite aggressive and low level of campaign that the BJP undertook to defeat both.
Despite its tall claims of getting 150 seats, the BJP had to be content with less than 100 seats, even though it successfully ensured defection of 14 Congress MLAs during the Rajya Sabha elections this August. The operation is said to have been carried out by former BJP leader Shankarsinh Vaghela, who crossed over to Congress in late 1990s after splitting BJP in 1996. BJP hoped, Vaghela's influence would work, but it was unsuccessful. Several of these defectors contested this time on BJP symbol, but lost.
While it will take some time to ascertain the voter base lost by the BJP, the fact is, the Congress has snatched away 27 seats which were previously with the BJP, and the Congress, has lost 8 seats to the BJP.
Gujarat Assembly has 13 reserved seats for Scheduled Castes (SC) of which 10 were with the BJP in 2012. Congress has double its tally of SC reserved seats from 3 to 6. Indeed, BJP paid a price for the wounds it afflicted on Dalits, especially after the public flogging of Dalit youths at Una on July 11, 2016. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, claiming to be a Dalit leader, unsuccessfully tried to help the BJP by describing Una as ‘not-so-serious’ incident. Yet, less than 7% Gujarat's Dalit population has made a visible political statement.
Notably, two BJP ministers on SC reserved seats -- Ramanlal Vora and and Atmaram Parmar -- lost as there was strong Dalit protest against them for ignoring Dalit interests and harassing Navsarjan Trust, the largest organization in Gujarat working on Dalit rights.

Gujarat Assembly has 26 reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs). In 2012 Congress won 16, while the BJP won 9. One seat went to Chhotubhai Vasava contesting from undivided the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U). Vasava played the trumpcard during the crucial Rajya Sabha polls in August -- his sole vote ensured the victory of Congress leader Ahmed Patel after a whopping 14 MLAs left the Congress.
During the Assembly polls, the Congress allied with Vasava, who is no more with JD(U). This alliance helped Congress+ to increase its tally to 18, with the BJP losing two seats. There has been some change, too. Both the Congress and the BJP lost two of their previously held seats.
OBC leader Alpesh Thakore joining the Congress has been a gain for the party on other seats as well. Ganiben Thakore has created a stir by defeating BJP minister Shakersinh Choudhry. His Thakore Sena played an important role in helping Jignesh Mevani to win. Thakore votes have also helped the Congress win some other seats as well.
Patidar leader Hardik Patel has been able to make lesser impact. In Surat, where his roadshows were impressive, there has been no change, as all the seats have gone to the BJP. Some marginal impact can be seen in Saurashtra, though.
Though Muslims constitute about 8.5 percent population in Gujarat, the BJP maintained its tradition of not giving a single seat to them. It was looking for the slightest opportunity to trap the Congress with minority appeasement. The Congress stayed away from mentioning Muslims, but gave them five seats, one less than last time. Muslims have won three seats, a significant representation after a very long time.
The election campaign in Gujarat was launched accidentally with the slogan which went viral ‘vikas gando thayo chhe’ (development has gone crazy). Although it subdued after some time, it left the BJP speechless with little option but to officially defend "vikas. However, it was not successful in focusing its campaign on development and sidetracked to non-issues. There was uneasy calm that both the Congress and the BJP failed to sense. It was anger.
There was Dalit anger that was quite visible. There was Adivasi anger that was silent, and there was Muslim anger that was ignored. It was this Muslim-Adivasi-Dalit (MAD) factor that frustrated the BJP. It is a modified incarnation of the KHAM theory, floated in mid-1980s by the Congress, which created an alliance of Kshatiyas, Harijans, Adivasis and Muslims.
Has Gujarat become a model for Navsarjan for India? One has to wait and see...
---
*Founder, Navsarjan Trust, Ahmedabad

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Search This Blog