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Has Hardik Patel made Modi lose his sleep?

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Ashok Upadhyay
Ashok UpadhyayAug 31, 2015 | 16:02

Has Hardik Patel made Modi lose his sleep?

On August 18, The Indian Express' Delhi edition carried two key news items on its front page. In one piece, it lauded the Prime Minister's efforts in achieving a positive joint statement with the UAE. "Hours after India and the UAE resolved to counter terrorism jointly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a message to Pakistan from Arab soil, saying that the theory of 'good Taliban and bad Taliban' would not work anymore and that the "message was clear to those whom it was intended for," the paper reported.

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The piece went on to describe the PM's successful address at the Dubai cricket stadium. Modi said that the country's prestige had increased and its changing profile was being accepted by the world - the underlying message was that his initiatives in India had got global recognition and enhanced India's profile manifold.

The newspaper's front page anchor for the day was titled, "Why are crowds in Gujarat lining up to listen to Hardik Patel". It was accompanied by the photograph of a young man carrying a gun on his shoulder. The article described how more than 4.5 lakh people turned up at his Surat rally, demanding the OBC status for the Patels. He attracted massive crowds at each and every rally. So, while Narendra Modi was lauding himself in the UAE, Hardik Patel was tearing apart his so called "Gujarat model of development" in his home state.

On August 25, a mammoth rally was organised by Hardik Patel. The Gujarat police cracked down on the organisers and Hardik Patel was detained for a few hours. Many of his supporters were beaten up. The arrest sparked violence in the city, with members of the Patel community clashing with the police. A viral video showed police personnel vandalising several vehicles in Ahmedabad and Surat. At least ten people were killed in the skirmish and several others injured. Riots, arson, stone-pelting and widespread damage to public and private property forced the authorities to call the Army and paramilitary forces. Since 2002, it was the first time that the Army had been asked to aid the civil authority. The agitation has exposed the chinks in the famous Modi Gujarat model.

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Ruling politicians from the Patel community were scared of returning to their constituencies over the weekend, despite instructions from chief minister Anandiben Patel that they talk to their voters to shun violence. Their fear was such that almost all MLAs of the Patel community had called over their sisters to Gandhinagar for the Rakhi festivities.

In his Ahmedabad rally, Hardik chose to address the crowd not in Gujarati, as he usually does, but in Hindi. His explanation was, "The issue of reservation is of national importance. And so, it was necessary to take it to the entire country." In recent times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has avoided speaking on controversial issues, but the situation turned so volatile in his home state that he was forced to address the agitation. Interestingly, his speech was not in Hindi, but Gujarati. So, while Hardik Patel was targeting the national audience, PM Modi was only addressing the people of Gujarat.

The Patel reservation movement started gaining momentum in June this year. From the beginning of July, reports about rallies for getting the community counted among OBCs started appearing in the national media. And by the third week of August, Hardik Patel started getting space in the mainstream news media. His first rally on July 6 at Mehsana had just 1,000-1,500 people. However, on August 21 at Vadodara, Hardik was addressing close to 2.5 lakh people. From the time Narenda Modi was elected as chief minister till now, nobody but Hardik has been able to gather a crowd of five lakh people in any part of Gujarat.

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Who is behind Hardik and his well-supported agitations? His photographs with Pravin Togadia, who has a strained relationship with Narendra Modi and Anandiben, have been making the rounds on social media. The name of Gordhan Zadafiya, a former minister of state who had parted ways with Narendra Modi, also came up. Now rumours of Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar backing Hardik have been rife. But the question remains unanswered.

In Hardik Patel we have someone who can match Modi in terms of attracting crowds in his home turf. In just two months' time, he has become a household name not only in Gujarat but also nationally. During the weekend, he was in Delhi, planning a new revolution. He met representatives of the Jat and Gujjar communities to make the movement national. Next on Hardik's agenda is a rally in the heart of Delhi scheduled for the coming month. Given the fact that Delhi was the heart of the anti-Mandal commission movement, it could be a fertile ground for another revolution in reservation. Will the 22-year-old do to Modi what Anna did to Manmohan Singh - erode the credibility of his government? Is he going to be another headache for Narendra Modi?

That depends on how Hardik plays his cards and how the BJP counters them.

Last updated: August 31, 2015 | 19:33
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