Surat, December 8 (PTI) Sitting BJP MLA Kisorebhai Kanani took a comfortable lead over rival Alpesh Kathiria of the Aam Admi Party in Varachha Road constituency, dashing the latter’s hopes of gaining a foothold in the diamond and textile hub of Surat. After 18 rounds of voting, Kanani had polled 67,177 votes, staying ahead of Kathiria by a good distance. Kathiria had polled 50,285 votes, while the Congress candidate could garner only 2,939 votes. The contest in Varachha turned hot after the AAP fielded Alpesh Kathiria, a prominent face of 2015 Patidar agitation for reservation in jobs, to wrest the seat from the BJP. Kanani, who has won this seat in 2012 and 2017, was a minister in the state government between 2017 and 2021. Home to many of Surat’s diamond workers, Varachha has been a BJP stronghold where Patidars hold the key to any electoral wins and losses. They constitute 90 per cent of Varachha’s 2.2-lakh electorate. The BJP has won from here in 2012 and 2017. The patidars, or the Patels as they are popularly known, account for 18 percent of Gujarat’s population. More than their numerical strength, the Patels wield significant political influence because of their money power and strong network. While they were instrumental in BJP’s political rise in the state, the party’s hold over this community has waned in recent years, especially after the government cracked down on a youth agitation for reservation in jobs. As many as 14 Patidar youths were killed in police action during the agitation and several leaders of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) were slapped with criminal cases. In 2017 elections, the Congress party had swept BJP lost 11 seats from the Patidar dominated Saurashtra region, the Congress improved its tally from 15 to 28. Twenty-eight year old Kathiriya rose into prominence among his Patidar community, after Hardik Patel, who was a leader of the quota stir, joined the ruling party in Gujarat in June. The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) had organised agitations across Gujarat in 2015, demanding Other Backward Class (OBC) status and reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the youth of the Patidar community. Hoping to reap the dividends of the Patidar resentment against the BJP, the AAP fielded its Gujarat chief Gopal Italia from Katargam assembly seat, state general secretary Manoj Sorathia from Karanj, 2015 quota stir leader Dharmik Malaviya from Olpad, diamond businessman Mahendra Nevadia from Surat North, and Ram Dhaduk from Kamrej – all Patidars. None of them, however, could break the BJP’s stranglehold in Surat. PTI PK RM VT VT