The Three Young Turks Who Want Change In Gujarat

Three young leaders, united by their unhappiness with the the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have joined hands with the Congress for the Gujarat assembly elections.

The trio – Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani – represent different segments of voters. Patel represents the Patidar community in the state which is agitating for reservation in government jobs and education under the other backward caste category. Alpesh Thakor represents the other backward castes while Jignesh Mevani is a Dalit activist.

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Patel’s Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti has arrived at a seat sharing formula with the Congress but at 24 years of age, he is too young to fight the election himself. The minimum age to contest elections is 25.

“Gujarat is not the BJP’s fiefdom,” Hardik told BloombergQuint in an interview. His key ambition is to oust the BJP and prompted him to find common ground with the Congress.

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While Hardik Patel has allied with the Congress, OBC leader Alpesh Thakor has joined the party and will fight the election from the Radhanpur constituency. His key plank is employment generation for the youth and a stricter implementation of the liquor ban in Gujarat.

The third leader completing the trio is Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani who is contesting the reserved seat of Vadagam in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat. When asked why he chose to fight the elections as an independent with support from the Congress instead of joining the party, Mevani is very clear. “I want my exclusive existence to remain intact” he said.

His political ambitions extend beyond the assembly elections as he looks to start his own political outfit focusing on Dalit rights soon.

What if the BJP wins the assembly election, as is being predicted? “Let’s assume for argument’s sake that they win, how does it matter to me?” he said.