Patels to get priority in Cong's Gujarat civic poll list, Cong's Civic Poll List,Gujarat civic poll, Economically Backward Class, BJP ,Gujarat municipal corporation poll

Patels to get priority in Cong's Gujarat civic poll list, Cong's Civic Poll List,Gujarat civic poll, Economically Backward Class, BJP ,Gujarat municipal corporation poll

GANDHINAGAR: For the first time, Gujarat Congress has declared its intention to give Patidars and other middle class (general category) communities priority in the upcoming statewide lo cal body elections. These sections are typically a hard-core BJP votebank.

However, after the recent Patidar and other gene ral community reservation stirs, Congress has sensed a big political opportunity and to grab this opportunity has declared support to the Patidar reservation stir in a guarded manner, by supporting EBC (Economically Backward Class) status for the poor among forward castes.

Bharatsinh Solanki, state Congress president said, "Patidars and all other communities have felt cheated by the BJP .BJP has damaged the middle class the most. The largest donation of Rs500 crore was given by the middle class to BJP for the elections and they also voted for BJP , but it cheated them. A number of Patidars leaders and workers are deserting the BJP and joining Congress in large numbers. We will ensure justice for them."
Solanki said that in the upcoming local body elections, scheduled for the last two weeks of November, "Congress will become the voice of the middle class. BJP has done injustice to the middle class which pays Rs. 1.33 lakh crore in taxes.Due to their anti-business policies industries like ceramics, oil engine, brassparts, diamond and other such businesses are dying. By ruining PSUs built by the Congress, BJP has just helped it's own people make money ."

Gujarat Congress party has announced that it will fight the statewide local bodies elections on the promise of economic-status based reservation to non-reserved castes like Patels, Brahmins, Baniyas, Sonis, Lohana etc, without disturbing the current 49% reservation for SCST and OBC. We will raise basic issues like BJP's failure to control rising prices of food items, failure in controlling law and order, farmers issues, expensive education and unemployment, corruption etc Solanki added that, "the state BJP government has failed to respond to the development needs of the non-reversed castes like Patidars, Brahmins, Baniyas etc, which has created lot of unrest in the state. As announced, Congress will demand that the government introduce a bill in the assembly to give15% to 20% economic-status based reservations, and if they do not, then our next government will do it. Congress will not make any change in the present 49% reservation system. These will be additional reservations."

src: toi

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