Where the die is not caste

For a change, neither the Congress nor the BJP is talking caste in any of the three Assembly constituencies in Junagadh district.

For a change, neither the Congress nor the BJP is talking caste in any of the three Assembly constituencies in Junagadh district. In Somanth, Talala and Kodinar seats, the election plans of both the parties have been forged with an eye on the region’s cement, chemicals and fibre industries.

Both the parties have ignored caste equations of the region and have given tickets to candidates perceived to be influential among the region’s industrial houses. Kolis and Muslims form the largest chunk of voters in these three seats but none of the contestants are from these communities. Reason: big money is to be gained from giving out contracts to these industries, which range from transport and labour to land leasing. For the parties, having their MLAs in any of the constituencies means a hold over the industry.

The coastal belt of Junagadh is home to Ambuja Cement in Kodinar, Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd (GHCL) in Sutrapada and Indian Rayon at Veraval. The BJP and Congress have opted for candidates who are prominent business figures with links to the industrial houses of the region.

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In Talala, while Congress candidate Bhaga Barad belongs to the Ahir community, BJP’s Govind Parmar is a Karadia-Rajput. Talala has 25,000 Ahirs and 20,000 Karadia Rajputs, while the Kolis form the majority with 35,000 voters.

In Somnath, the Congress candidate Jesha Barad is a Karadia-Rajput, while the BJP candidate Rajshi Jotwa is an Ahir. Here, the Kolis and the Muslims together account for more than 40,000 votes.

In Kodinar, Laxman Parmar of the Congress and Dinu Solanki of the BJP are both from the Karadia-Rajput community. However, Karadias , with not more than 25,000 voters, are in minority.