Communal polarity major factor in Ahmedabad

When they had Ahsan Jaffrey (1977) as their member of Parliament, the Congress was secure in Ahmedabad.

But now, more than 30 years later, not only are they trying to forget Ahsan Jaffrey, the former MP was burnt alive by a mob during the Gujarat riots, but also running around to find a candidate to field.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has retained the Ahmedabad parliamentary constituency for the last five elections. Harin Pathak, minister of state for home, has been named the BJP candidate yet again.

Despite a perception that Pathak is a protégé of Union Home Minister LK Advani and is not on the list of favourite legislators of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Pathak owes his power to the sheer fact of winning elections.

The Ahmedabad parliamentary constituency has seven Assembly constituencies: Kalupur, Rakhial, Shaher, Kotada, Khadiya, Jamalpur, Maninagar and Naroda.

In the Assembly elections of 2002, apart from Kalupur and Jamalpur, which were won by the Congress, the remaining five seats went to the BJP.

Ahmedabad is a city hit endemically by communal riots. Probably because of this, the population is polarised. The rise of the BJP is directly linked to the growth of the city. Ahmedabad used to be a hub of the textile industry.

But as investments dried up and the industry began to die, the ruling elite was displaced by a new trader elite. This was a new class, that defined anew the cultural and political growth of the city.

It was in this atmosphere that the BJP took root. In its voting behaviour, Ahmedabad is not a constituency that factors in development as guiding element in deciding whom to send to the Lok Sabha. Because it is communally alive, it is communal polarisation that makes candidates win or lose.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has a strong presence in Ahmedabad, making it a mobile band of volunteers.

The VHP is once again pledged to making Pathak win from Ahmedabad. If he does not, it will represent one of the biggest upsets of this election.