(EDS: Correcting typo in para 7)By Sourav Roy BarmanMehsana/Vadnagar (Gujarat), Dec 10 (PTI) It's not everyday that you find a hardened BJP worker muttering under hisbreath that his party, which has been ruling Gujarat for thelast 22 years, is on a sticky wicket.
When you do find one, that too in Vadnagar, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's home town, it is indicative of thediscontent in parts of the state, where the BJP is aiming atreturning to power for a fifth consecutive term.
Dikshit Patel, a long time BJP worker, is worried thatthe simmering anger of the Patidar community, upset over theviolence in 2015 during the agitation for reservation, couldbrim over on election day, spelling trouble for the party.
He is not the only one viewing the December 14 electionwith foreboding. The mood in the BJP camp in Mehsana district,which straddles seven constituencies, is tense.
Mehsana and Vadnagar fall in Mehsana district, but whileVadnagar is under the Unjha constituency, Mehsana city (knownas Mahesana in the list of the state election office) is aseparate constituency.
BJP workers are apprehensive that the Patidar rage couldseverely dent the party's prospects.
It all began in Mehsana, the epicentre of the Patidaragitation led by Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) chiefHardik Patel, two years ago, they recall.
The agitation for reservation took a violent turn, peoplewere killed, Patidar leaders were jailed and the state wasdeaf to their demand for quota for the community.
Today, the fire may have been doused but the embers stillglow.
"More than Hardik as an individual, it is the issue ofPatidar reservation that has struck a chord with the Patels,especially the youth. Patels are the backbone of the BJP inGujarat. We made the party what it is today so it is naturalthat if they desert our camp, the impact will be deep," saysDikshit.
Most BJP functionaries in the area, dominated byPatidars, belong to this community. But be it Dikshit inVadnagar or Falgun Patel in Mehsana city, a fairly developedurban settlement, the anxiety is palpable.
The party is trying to contain the potential damage inUnjha by playing up the fact that Narayanbhai Patel, the localMLA seeking a sixth-straight term, heads the Umiya DhamTemple, revered by the Patel community. He is up against theCongressÂ’s Ashaben Patel.
The BJP has fielded Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patelagainst Jivabhai Patel of the Congress in Mahesana.
Falgun Patel, who has been a corporator of the BJP in thelocal Mehsana municipality, also concedes that the contest isextremely tight because of the anger in the Patel community,which he says "cannot be bought".
He rattles off a set of figures to prove his point.
"There are around 2.57 lakh voters in the Mahesana seat,out of which about 52,000 are Patidars. Among the Patidars,even considering the best possible scenario, not more than18,000 shall vote for us. And Patels have been our strength,"Falgun says.
He adds that the party is attempting to offset the Pateldesertion by focusing more on OBC communities such as Thakores(around 40,000), Prajapatis (26,000 approx) and the Chaudharys(17,000 approx).
"Thakore votes are usually reserved for the Congress. Butthis time, we are hoping the OBCs will tilt towards the BJPconsidering the Congress's emphasis on wooing the Patidars bypromising them reservation. The OBCs understand they stand tolose if the quotas materialise," he explains.
Not everyone is downcast, though.
J K Bharot, 73, who runs a stationery shop off theMehsana-Palanpur highway, is as optimistic as ever.
"Like I was when A K Patel was elected in 1984. The Modimagic will work again," he says, stressing repeatedly that theprime minister "is a great man".
A K Patel was the first BJP leader elected to the LokSabha from the Mehsana parliamentary constituency. He held theseat till 1998, before Aatmaram Patel of the Congress tookover and later, in 2004, Jivabhai Patel.
Vitthal Bhai Choudhary, a local BJP worker, echoes Bharotand says Falgun's assessment is needlessly pessimistic.
A number of influential NRI Patels have arrived and areworking overtime to win back the support of the disgruntledPatels, he says.
Besides Unjha and Mahesana, the five other constituenciesin the district are Kheralu, Visnagar and Becharaji, Kadi(reserved for SCs) and Vijapur. Other than Kadi and Vijapur,the rest are with the BJP.
While the first polls were held on December 9, theseconstituencies will vote in the second phase on December 14.
The results will be declared on December 18. PTI SBR MINBDSBDS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.