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6 events in 3 months: Modi woos Patidars ahead of polls

6 events in 3 months: Modi woos Patidars ahead of polls

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Gujarat to inaugurate, among other projects, the KD Parvadiya hospital, a multi-speciality facility built by a Patidar group, at Atkot village in Rajkot district.

This is yet another outreach effort by Modi to woo the Patidar community that felt alienated ahead the 2017 Assembly elections. Of the 17 events that Modi addressed in his home state since March, six were organised by groups with strong links to the Patidar community.

The BJP leadership is doing everything it can, including bringing in a ‘Patel Chief Minister’ and a new ministry last year, to win back the Patidars who were somewhat disenchanted before the 2017 elections following the quota agitation led by Hardik Patel.

The Patidar community holds a significant influence over the electoral politics of Gujarat. They form around 12 per cent of the total over 6 crore population in the state. There are many Assembly constituencies where around 15 per cent population belongs to the Patidar community and could directly influence the electoral outcome. The community is also considered an effective fund manager in electoral politics.

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Hardik quit the Congress last week and has not ruled out joining the BJP.

While the Congress gained from Patidar anger in 2017, the community seemed to have backed the AAP in the 2021 local body elections.

Another key Patidar leader, Rajkot-based businessman Naresh Patel, chairman of the Shree Khodaldham Trust, has announced plans to join politics and has been in conversation with the Congress, though nothing concrete has emerged. It is in this backdrop that the PM’s efforts to engage constantly with the community assumes significance.

Modi had on April 15, virtually inaugurated K K Patel Super Speciality hospital in Bhuj, which was also built by a Patidar organisation, Shri Kutch Leuva Patel Education & Medical Trust. KD Parvadiya Hospital, to be inaugurated Saturday, has been constructed by Patel Seva Samaj, Atkot, a Patidar charitable trust.

On April 29, Modi virtually addressed Gujarat Patidar Business Summit, 2022, organised by Sardardham, a Patidar organisation. This year, Modi decided to virtually address the summit’s third edition for the first time in Surat. In an apparent reference to the 2015 Patidar quota agitation, Modi had then said: “There are some boys in your area, who come out against us, raising flags… they would not even know how you spent your days in darkness… tell them… about what kind of days you have seen and from where we came…”

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According to a senior BJP leader, “For our party, ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is not just a slogan but a strategy. We cannot just appease one community, it will go against us electorally.” Another leader describes the Patidars as the “backbone” of the BJP.

Leading Congress Patidar leader Paresh Dhanani said the Patidars will not fall for Modi’s attempts to “deceive” them.

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6 events in 3 months: Modi woos Patidars ahead of polls

Narendra Modi, Gujarat, Gujarat news, Gujarat patidar, Patidar group, Rajkot, Indian Express, India news, current affairs, Indian Express News Service, Express News Service, Express News, Indian Express India News

ON SATURDAY, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Gujarat to inaugurate, among other projects, the KD Parvadiya hospital, a multi-speciality facility built by a Patidar group, at Atkot village in Rajkot district.

This is yet another outreach effort by Modi to woo the Patidar community that felt alienated ahead the 2017 Assembly elections. Of the 17 events that Modi addressed in his home state since March, six were organised by groups with strong links to the Patidar community.

The BJP leadership is doing everything it can, including bringing in a ‘Patel Chief Minister’ and a new ministry last year, to win back the Patidars who were somewhat disenchanted before the 2017 elections following the quota agitation led by Hardik Patel.

The Patidar community holds a significant influence over the electoral politics of Gujarat. They form around 12 per cent of the total over 6 crore population in the state. There are many Assembly constituencies where around 15 per cent population belongs to the Patidar community and could directly influence the electoral outcome. The community is also considered an effective fund manager in electoral politics.

Best of Express Premium

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Hardik quit the Congress last week and has not ruled out joining the BJP.

While the Congress gained from Patidar anger in 2017, the community seemed to have backed the AAP in the 2021 local body elections.

Another key Patidar leader, Rajkot-based businessman Naresh Patel, chairman of the Shree Khodaldham Trust, has announced plans to join politics and has been in conversation with the Congress, though nothing concrete has emerged. It is in this backdrop that the PM’s efforts to engage constantly with the community assumes significance.

Modi had on April 28, virtually inaugurated K K Patel Super Speciality hospital in Bhuj, which was also built by a Patidar organisation, Shri Kutch Leuva Patel Education & Medical Trust. KD Parvadiya Hospital, to be inaugurated Saturday, has been constructed by Patel Seva Samaj, Atkot, a Patidar charitable trust.

On April 29, Modi virtually addressed Gujarat Patidar Business Summit, 2022, organised by Sardardham, a Patidar organisation. This year, Modi decided to virtually address the summit’s third edition for the first time in Surat. In an apparent reference to the 2015 Patidar quota agitation, Modi had then said: “There are some boys in your area, who come out against us, raising flags… they would not even know how you spent your days in darkness… tell them… about what kind of days you have seen and from where we came…”

Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price

According to a senior BJP leader, “For our party, ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is not just a slogan but a strategy. We cannot just appease one community, it will go against us electorally.” Another leader describes the Patidars as the “backbone” of the BJP.

Leading Congress Patidar leader Paresh Dhanani said the Patidars will not fall for Modi’s attempts to “deceive” them.

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hijab: Karnataka hijab verdict: How events unfolded | India News – Times of India

hijab: Karnataka hijab verdict: How events unfolded | India News - Times of India
NEW DELHI: The full bench of the Karnataka High Court, which concluded its hearing in the Hijab case, is likely to pronounce its verdict on Tuesday.
The demand by a section of girls in an Udupi pre-university college to wear Hijab inside their classrooms erupted into a major row after some Hindu students turned up in saffron shawls with the issue spreading to other parts of the state, even as the government insisted on a uniform norm.
Earlier, the High Court had reserved its order on various petitions challenging the ban on Hijab in educational institutions.
Here’s a look at how the hijab controversy unfolded in the last few months:
Dec 31: An incident of about six students from Government PU College for Girls, Udupi, demanding they wear hijab inside classrooms comes to light. During admission, they were informed about the rules and nobody had objected, the college says
Jan 1: A meeting organised at the college decides not to allow students to wear headscarf inside classrooms.
Jan 6: Pompei College Aikala decides to allow students to wear only prescribed uniform. College hogs limelight after pictures and videos of students wearing saffron shawls on campus go viral.
Jan 13: Eight students from Government PU College for Girls, Udupi, decide to attend classes only if they are allowed to wear hijab. MLA Raghupathi Bhat writes to PU director. Students claim the undertaking they signed at the time of admission spoke only about wearing uniform and identity cards.
Jan 19: Another attempt is made to solve the headscarf row at the Udupi college. It’s decided that students can wear hijab in classrooms; however, once the teacher arrives and classes begin, they will have to remove it. In case they do not agree, they will have to wait for government orders.
Jan 25: Karnataka government decides to set up expert committee to decide on uniform and dress code. It directs colleges in Udupi to maintain status quo till panel takes a final decision. On January 28, even as the college betterment committee at the Government PU College for Girls starts discussions with Muslim leaders and parents to end the hijab crisis, Campus Front of India states it will continue to support the girls.
Jan 31: MLA Raghupathi Bhat says action will be initiated against students who enter classrooms wearing hijab.
Jan 31: Five Muslim girls from Government PU College for Girls, Udupi, approach high court seeking a declaration from it that they have a fundamental right to practise essential religious practices, including wearing of hijab as per Islamic faith, on college premises. On February 1, six students denied entry into classroom.
Feb 2: Controversy erupts in another government college — in Kundapur — as 28 girls sport hijab and about 50 boys don saffron shawl. MLA Haladi Srinivas Shetty requests students to follow prescribed uniform.
Feb 2: Some students protest against those wearing hijab in Sir MV Government College in Bhadravathi, Shivamogga.
Feb 3: Controversy flares up in Kundapur Junior College as nearly 28 Muslim students denied entry for wearing hijab. It spreads to Bhandarkar’s Arts and Science College and later to Government PU College.
Feb 4: A group of students from government PU college in Ramadurga, Belagavi, comes to class draping saffron shawls on Feb 1. But incident comes to light on Feb 4.
Feb 8: Tension grips Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi after Hindu students wear saffron turbans and shawls to counter students sporting hijab.
Feb 8: Govt declares 3-day holiday as high court hears petition filed by students.
Feb 9: Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi constitutes a full bench to hear the Hijab row.
Feb 10: The SC refused to list a plea seeking transfer of hijab row petitions from the Karnataka High Court to the Supreme Court on an urgent basis.
Feb 14: Schools opened in Karnataka. Visuals showing students and teachers being asked to take off their hijab and burqa before entering the campus were on rounds.
Feb 16: Pre-university colleges and schools open after they were shut for a week.
Feb 23: The Karnataka High Court states that its interim order in the hijab case is applicable to all educational institutions as long as the matter is sub-judice. Court also said that if an institute wants, it may prescribe a uniform at any given time.
Feb 25: The Karnataka High Court reserves its judgement in the hijab row after a marathon hearing in the case.