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6 events in 3 months: Modi woos Patidars ahead of polls

6 events in 3 months: Modi woos Patidars ahead of polls

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Gujarat to inaugurate, among other projects, the KD Parvadiya hospital, a multi-speciality facility built by a Patidar group, at Atkot village in Rajkot district.

This is yet another outreach effort by Modi to woo the Patidar community that felt alienated ahead the 2017 Assembly elections. Of the 17 events that Modi addressed in his home state since March, six were organised by groups with strong links to the Patidar community.

The BJP leadership is doing everything it can, including bringing in a ‘Patel Chief Minister’ and a new ministry last year, to win back the Patidars who were somewhat disenchanted before the 2017 elections following the quota agitation led by Hardik Patel.

The Patidar community holds a significant influence over the electoral politics of Gujarat. They form around 12 per cent of the total over 6 crore population in the state. There are many Assembly constituencies where around 15 per cent population belongs to the Patidar community and could directly influence the electoral outcome. The community is also considered an effective fund manager in electoral politics.

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Hardik quit the Congress last week and has not ruled out joining the BJP.

While the Congress gained from Patidar anger in 2017, the community seemed to have backed the AAP in the 2021 local body elections.

Another key Patidar leader, Rajkot-based businessman Naresh Patel, chairman of the Shree Khodaldham Trust, has announced plans to join politics and has been in conversation with the Congress, though nothing concrete has emerged. It is in this backdrop that the PM’s efforts to engage constantly with the community assumes significance.

Modi had on April 15, virtually inaugurated K K Patel Super Speciality hospital in Bhuj, which was also built by a Patidar organisation, Shri Kutch Leuva Patel Education & Medical Trust. KD Parvadiya Hospital, to be inaugurated Saturday, has been constructed by Patel Seva Samaj, Atkot, a Patidar charitable trust.

On April 29, Modi virtually addressed Gujarat Patidar Business Summit, 2022, organised by Sardardham, a Patidar organisation. This year, Modi decided to virtually address the summit’s third edition for the first time in Surat. In an apparent reference to the 2015 Patidar quota agitation, Modi had then said: “There are some boys in your area, who come out against us, raising flags… they would not even know how you spent your days in darkness… tell them… about what kind of days you have seen and from where we came…”

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According to a senior BJP leader, “For our party, ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is not just a slogan but a strategy. We cannot just appease one community, it will go against us electorally.” Another leader describes the Patidars as the “backbone” of the BJP.

Leading Congress Patidar leader Paresh Dhanani said the Patidars will not fall for Modi’s attempts to “deceive” them.

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6 events in 3 months: Modi woos Patidars ahead of polls

Narendra Modi, Gujarat, Gujarat news, Gujarat patidar, Patidar group, Rajkot, Indian Express, India news, current affairs, Indian Express News Service, Express News Service, Express News, Indian Express India News

ON SATURDAY, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Gujarat to inaugurate, among other projects, the KD Parvadiya hospital, a multi-speciality facility built by a Patidar group, at Atkot village in Rajkot district.

This is yet another outreach effort by Modi to woo the Patidar community that felt alienated ahead the 2017 Assembly elections. Of the 17 events that Modi addressed in his home state since March, six were organised by groups with strong links to the Patidar community.

The BJP leadership is doing everything it can, including bringing in a ‘Patel Chief Minister’ and a new ministry last year, to win back the Patidars who were somewhat disenchanted before the 2017 elections following the quota agitation led by Hardik Patel.

The Patidar community holds a significant influence over the electoral politics of Gujarat. They form around 12 per cent of the total over 6 crore population in the state. There are many Assembly constituencies where around 15 per cent population belongs to the Patidar community and could directly influence the electoral outcome. The community is also considered an effective fund manager in electoral politics.

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Hardik quit the Congress last week and has not ruled out joining the BJP.

While the Congress gained from Patidar anger in 2017, the community seemed to have backed the AAP in the 2021 local body elections.

Another key Patidar leader, Rajkot-based businessman Naresh Patel, chairman of the Shree Khodaldham Trust, has announced plans to join politics and has been in conversation with the Congress, though nothing concrete has emerged. It is in this backdrop that the PM’s efforts to engage constantly with the community assumes significance.

Modi had on April 28, virtually inaugurated K K Patel Super Speciality hospital in Bhuj, which was also built by a Patidar organisation, Shri Kutch Leuva Patel Education & Medical Trust. KD Parvadiya Hospital, to be inaugurated Saturday, has been constructed by Patel Seva Samaj, Atkot, a Patidar charitable trust.

On April 29, Modi virtually addressed Gujarat Patidar Business Summit, 2022, organised by Sardardham, a Patidar organisation. This year, Modi decided to virtually address the summit’s third edition for the first time in Surat. In an apparent reference to the 2015 Patidar quota agitation, Modi had then said: “There are some boys in your area, who come out against us, raising flags… they would not even know how you spent your days in darkness… tell them… about what kind of days you have seen and from where we came…”

Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price

According to a senior BJP leader, “For our party, ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is not just a slogan but a strategy. We cannot just appease one community, it will go against us electorally.” Another leader describes the Patidars as the “backbone” of the BJP.

Leading Congress Patidar leader Paresh Dhanani said the Patidars will not fall for Modi’s attempts to “deceive” them.

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PM Modi calls Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett, discusses global events and bilateral cooperation

PM Modi calls Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett, discusses global events and bilateral cooperation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett, whose visit to India was postponed after he contracted Covid-19, to enquire about his health and also discuss recent global events.

Modi tweeted that he looked forward to welcoming Bennett to India for his first visit to the country. “Was happy to speak with PM @naftalibennett and to know that he is recovering well. We discussed recent global events, and also reviewed India-Israel cooperation in various areas. I look forward to welcoming him in India very soon to continue our discussions,” he said.

Replying to him, the Israeli prime minister said, “It was great speaking to you my friend, @NarendraModi. I look forward to seeing you soon!”

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that PM Modi also expressed his condolences for the loss of lives in the recent terrorist attacks in Israel. “The leaders had a detailed discussion on recent geopolitical developments, including the situation in Ukraine. They also reviewed ongoing bilateral cooperation initiatives,” MEA said.

It also said that Prime Minister Modi “conveyed his eagerness to welcome (Israel’s PM) Bennett in India at an early date”.

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Some students upset by another potential ‘superspreader’ event

James Hight building at the University of Canterbury

By Tessa Guest

During the day, the University of Canterbury’s campus is almost deserted.

James Hight building at the University of Canterbury

The University of Canterbury’s Ilam campus.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Staff and students are isolating with Covid-19, or participating in courses online. Only a few classes remain in-person.

But on Saturday night, a field near the campus was filled with noise and people.

University-owned Ilam Fields has become home to uncontrolled parties taking place instead of traditional Orientation Week events, which were canned due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Hundreds of students gathered for a makeshift toga party two weeks ago, and more returned for another large gathering last weekend.

Mattresses were thrown around, people urinated in bushes, and the field was left strewn with rubbish and broken glass.

First-year hall resident Molly said the organisers and attendees were largely other student residents, and that the hall’s strict alcohol bans pushed people to drink in public spaces.

With community cases surging, she said the gatherings made some residents feel more anxious about getting Covid-19.

“I was definitely keeping my distance because I didn’t want to catch it, and it was definitely a superspreader,” she said.

Third-year geography student Natalie O’Connell was one of the few students choosing to work from the campus this week, and said it was clear the party-goers didn’t care about the effect their actions were having.

“People are going out of their way to get mass gatherings of definitely more than 100, no one’s checking vaccine passes, no one’s on security, so it’s all round pretty irresponsible, and they know it,” she said.

‘Tough time for students’

University of Canterbury Student Association president Pierce Crowley was sympathetic to those who attended, citing the lack of Orientation Week events as the driver of alternative gatherings.

Pierce Crowley, UCSA president

Pierce Crowley
Photo: Supplied

“It’s a really tough time for students. For many of them, this is their second or third year of disrupted learning,” he said.

“This [the partying] hasn’t happened in the past, and that’s because we’ve been able to host events that have got it out of people’s systems in a big burst at the beginning of the semester.”

He said the association was focused on educating students on the legal requirements of gatherings in the red traffic light setting.

Co-editor of the university’s student magazine, Ella Gibson, thought more could be done now to give students safe partying options.

“There’s definitely a gap in the fun infamous night-time drinking events,” she said.

She thought the party-goers were on the right track in using Ilam Fields, and that the area could be used for controlled night-time events within the current Covid-19 guidelines.

Crowley said the restrictions made it too difficult to host any large events safely now, but a priority for the association was hosting replacements to Orientation Week events as soon as it was possible.

“We’re really keen, once we have the ability to do so again, to host these events and get it in a supervised environment where students can party safely and stay out of the community’s hair.”