How a viral Kshatriya protest, fronted by women, is giving BJP the jitters in Gujarat

The Kshatriya community, of which the Rajputs are a part, said Rupala had insulted the women of the community and demanded that he be replaced as the BJP candidate. Rupala apologised multiple times, but his appeals were not accepted as sincere. However, the BJP, which had already replaced two other candidates after facing internal protests, did not budge on Rupala, fearing similar demands from other communities on almost every seat. Over the next three weeks, the protests intensified and have now spread across the state.

Kshatriya community leaders earlier said they were not against the BJP but only Rupala. However, they have now changed tack to declare they will vote against the BJP on all 26 seats in Gujarat. The ruling party, meanwhile, has remained patient. Senior leaders, such as state BJP president C.R. Patil, state home minister Harsh Sanghavi and chief minister Bhupendra Patel, have engaged with Kshatriya leaders multiple times, but to no avail.

The women of the community are fronting the protest as an insult to their asmita (pride in identity). On April 14, a massive gathering of the community was organised in Rajkot, which was reportedly attended by over 100,000 people. In another gathering on April 29 in Bardoli, again widely attended, the community reiterated its stand of voting against the BJP. In the last week of April, a Kshatriya Asmita Aandolan was started, with ‘dharma raths’ (car rallies) traversing all seats and spreading the word of voting against the BJP and in favour of Congress candidates. It was only after the last day of withdrawal of nominations that the community asserted its support to the Congress.

The main reason for the BJP’s inability to control this agitation is the absence of a central face of this protest. Ahead of the mid-April rally, the Rajya Kshatriya Samaj Sankalan Samiti, a coordination committee of the Kshatriya community, was formed, with a leader, Karansinh Chavda, being its media interface. But the protests in towns and villages are not guided by them alone. Connected and inspired by posts on social media, the demonstrations are led by myriad local leaders in their own ways, not always connected with their brethren on other seats. Though the BJP continues dialogue with several leaders, it has not succeeded in controlling the state-wide faceless protest.

Now, the demonstrations have gathered momentum and erupt in the face of unsuspecting candidates in the last and most critical leg of campaigning, leaving them to fend for on an issue they had no part in. The most talked about in political circles in the state is the challenge faced by Jamnagar candidate Poonam Maadam, who has been facing protests at her rallies by Kshatriya youth flaunting black scarves. Over 100 protesters have been arrested by the police in two days. Earlier, Idar MLA Ramanlal Vora was pulled into a scuffle with protesters during a campaign round, videos of which went viral. Similar protests have been witnessed in Surendranagar, Surat, Bardoli, Junagadh, Anand, Mehsana and Bharuch, to name a few.

The Kshatriya community forms about 6 per cent of Gujarat’s population, and does not decisively impact a particular seat. Conscious of this calibration of the BJP to refuse the change of candidate, the community claims it may be small in numbers but each person can influence at least five votes. Whether this threat is actually executed on polling day and whether their claims of influence are authentic remains to be seen. But for now, the movement which appeared like a storm in a teacup a month ago has become the biggest issue in the elections in Gujarat, posing a serious challenge to the BJP’s 500,000-victory-margin target on every seat, and in some cases even the prospect of defeat.

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