Skip to main content

Decoding Hardik Patel...

Our nation has been left stunned by the sudden rise of a 22 year old kid from Gujarat - Hardik Patel. Hardik launched himself with a rally attended by lakhs in Ahmedabad yesterday

So what took the nation by surprise....

1) Gujarat was also perceived by many Indians as a model state of governance and development. Gujarat bid adieu to caste based politics more than 30 years ago. In a day Hardik Patel changed the image of Gujarat from a model state to a caste ridden state similar to Bihar. The silence of many Gujaratis amplified Hardik's rise.

2) Equally shocking was the demand of reservation. Patels have always been a socially, politically and economically powerful community. It is surprising than an affluent upper caste section of society is demanding reservations. 

But there are 3 key factors driving the support that Hardik seems to be getting ..

a) Anger of the upper castes - Reservations have been around since 1992. They are now taking a toll on the upper castes..... if you are an average kid from the upper caste community who scores 80%, there is little hope for you in India. Till now the upper castes responded by sending their kids abroad. With seats in general category down to 20% in some cases, the upper castes like the Patels have finally decided to fight back. This anger has been simmering for some time now. It was visible when the Jats protested earlier 

b) Digital Business  - With the growth of digital businesses, the Patels have realised that access to education will be critical in building new innovative business models for the future. Traditional means of doing business will not sustain. While the Patels have adequate access to land, capital, its the limited access to education thats is hurting them. 

c) Patel Pride - For the last 20 years there has not been any state level leader of stature that the community can feel represents them adequately. A gentle grandmotherly Anandiben Patel does not effectively represent the 'macho' image of the community at large. 

When you combine wounded pride, anger and frustration from being denied access to education , you get a deadly cocktail. This cocktail finds expression in a maverick kid who has the potential to undo the gains of the last 20 years .....

What should Anandiben do .....

a) Nothing - Let Gujarat shutdown for a week. Patel's are a business community and every day of bandh means loss of business. Once the losses accumulate .... support to Hardik Patel will die a natural death.  Gujarat's image however will remain battered.

b) Invite Hardik Patel for talks - There are so many seasoned experienced leaders from the Patel community who will not allow Hardik to take the pole leadership position of their community. The other leaders will pull him down and Anandiben will have someone sensible to talk with ...

For Narendra Modi .... he stands to win no matter what happens ..... for if he resists the Patel demand for OBC status .... we will consolidate the 55% OBC vote bank ...... if he gives in it will mean the end of reservations as other upper castes will also lay claim ... he then consolidates the upper caste vote bank and also wins the support of the middle class which has always opposed reservations 

If I was Narendra Modi, I would invite my old friend from the RSS - Shankarsingh Vaghela to do a 'Ghar Wapsi'.... for he is one local leader who can turn the tide for him easily in Gujarat












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Manohar - One who could win hearts and minds

They say that it is easy to defeat anyone, winning people over is the most difficult thing to do. Manohar Parrikar true to his name dedicated his life to winning people over. My first interaction with Manohar Parikkar was 5 years ago. Elections had been announced and Manohar Parikkar was asked to address IT professionals living in and around Outer Ring Road in Bangalore. New Horizon College was the venue. On that lazy Sunday, I managed to show up at the venue 15 before time. Politicians are known to arrive late but Manohar Parrikar was already there mingling with the IT crowd. He speech consisted of 2-3 stories with foksy humor and wisdom. He wanted the IT crowd to engage in politics, to participate in nation building, I still remember his story "Once upon a time, Goa was known for the best watermelons. Every year post the harvest season, farmers in every village would invite people to taste the best watermelons for free. There was only one condition, they had to spit ou...
1 comment
Read more

Kindle Review @ India

Got my Kindle delivered today and altough its been only a few hours here's how Kindle works in Bangalore, India a) Purchase: I bought the Kindle Global Edition using my Indian credit card and got it shipped to a friend in the US who got it for me to Bangalore . Works out to Rs 13,000 as i saved on shipping and duties. b) Packaging is very neat , as Amazon claiming on the package - its a frustration free package , easy to get to your kindle in less than 60 seconds. c) Kindle ships with a US charger which is not much of an issue for folks in Banaglore as most homes have a converter of some kind. You can also charge via USB of your computer . d) Charging & Controls : Got the Kindle charged up , the Kindle quick start guide popped up . All controls are very intuitive and you can skip the quick start guide. Its was only seconds and i was at ease with my Kindle. e) Whispernet access : Kindle did not automatically detect the service provider in Banaglore. After repeated attempts when ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mahaghatbandhan Meltdown

Over the last 9 months, regional leaders had worked very hard to build an anti-Modi front. They did not contest seats, swallowed pride and also shared a platform with the very parties against whom they had contested all their lives. These regional parties did all this with only one hope - survival. They believed that if they all came together, they could put up a credible fight against Modi in 2019. It would be painful for each one of them to concede seats but at least survival was possible. The Mahaghatbandhan strategy was put to test during the bypolls. Vote banks were combined; lifelong enemies (BSP-SP) came together and the BJP was defeated in the bypolls. Mahaghatbahndhan despite its inherent contradictions seemed to work. Desperation was the binding glue. NDA, on the other hand, seemed to lose friends. The Shiv Sena remains miffed as it is relegated to a supporting role, TDP walked out as it was unable to take on YSR at the local level. On top of this, media build a ...
1 comment
Read more