Ahmedabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sensing that the stakes are high, has made an exception to its ‘one family, one ticket’ rule in poll-bound Gujarat by fielding the Solanki brothers, Parshottam and Hira, both prominent faces of the state’s Koli community.
Despite his keeping ill, five-time MLA Parshottam Solanki has been fielded from Bhavnagar Rural, the seat he first won in 2012 and retained in 2017. His brother Hira, who lost the previous assembly election — is contesting from Rajula in Amreli district on a BJP ticket.
Kolis, the community the Solanki brothers claim to represent, constitutes one-third of Gujarat’s total population and can influence the outcome in at least 32 assembly seats.
The BJP is relying on strongman Parshottam to give the party an edge in the Bhavnagar district, despite him having undergone a kidney transplant a few years ago and having told the party in 2017 that he wanted his son Jayesh to get the ticket in his place in 2022. To that effect, he also features in the BJP’s list of star campaigners for Gujarat.
Parshottam, however, has said that he will “not be able to travel much” in the run-up to the elections since the party has entrusted him with the responsibility of ensuring its victory in the nine seats that fall in the Bhavnagar district.
Solanki senior’s journey to becoming the face of the Koli community in Gujarat was riddled with controversies, including his alleged involvement in a fisheries scam, and his tussle with the then state home minister Haren Pandya and former chief minister Vijay Rupani.
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BJP’s tryst with Solanki senior
The BJP first placed its faith in Solanki by fielding him from Ghogho assembly seat in 1998 which he won by a margin of over 16,000 votes, retaining it later in 2002 and 2007. He was then asked to contest from Bhavnagar rural seat on a BJP ticket in 2012. Not only did he win the seat by a margin of over 18,000 votes, but managed to hold on to it in 2017.
On BJP’s continued reliance on Solanki, Ahmedabad-based senior journalist Japan Pathak told ThePrint: “The BJP realised Solanki’s importance in the 1996 Lok Sabha election when he gave a tough fight to then Gujarat BJP president Rajendra Singh Rana. Though Solanki lost by 7,000 votes, Rana invited him to join the BJP soon after the election.”
Mahendra Trivedi, then a minister in the BJP-led state government, along with Solanki’s friend Dhiru Bhai C.R. and Rana played an “instrumental role” in bringing Solanki into the BJP fold, said the party’s Bhavnagar district general secretary Bhupatbhai Baraiya.
“Since then, Solanki has worked for the Koli community and that is why BJP made him minister of fisheries (in the Keshubhai Patel government) soon after his victory in the 1998 assembly elections. But he was dropped when Vijay Rupani and his entire cabinet was changed in 2021. He (Solanki) was annoyed but the BJP did not want to take any chances, which is why both he and his brother were given tickets,” Baraiya said.
Bhupatbhai explained that the BJP did not enjoy the support of the Koli community until 1995. “There was dominance of the Ahir and Rajput communities in Bhavnagar. Kiritsinh Gohil, who was the home minister in the Chimanbhai government, was an influential figure and had significant clout everywhere, all the way up from talukas to districts. When Solanki joined the BJP, he ensured that Gohil’s hold diminishes in the district.”
Parbatsinh Gohil, the son of Kiritsinh’s brother, unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls against Solanki in 1998, while Kiritsinh’s son Mahavirsinh Gohil was trounced by Solanki in 2002. “Since then, other Koli leaders like Karsanbhai Patel and Rajput leaders like Shaktisinh Gohil, among others, have tried to defeat Solanki but in vain.”
“Solanki senior was interested in fielding his son this time but the party knew that his son does not have the kind of influence like his father has and did not want to take that risk. He (Parshottam Solanki) is Koli Hriday Samrat,” a Gujarat BJP functionary told ThePrint.
Fisheries scam, tussle with Rupani
While he has managed to garner votes for the BJP time and again, Parshottam has never shied away from making his differences with the party public.
After the BJP rode to power in Gujarat in 2017, Solanki was inducted in the Vijay Rupani cabinet — his fourth stint in government — as junior minister in charge of fisheries. Upset over not getting a meaty portfolio, Solanki skipped a cabinet meet and met Koli community leaders instead. According to a state BJP leader, he even suggested to then CM Rupani to divest a few of his ministries to cabinet colleagues who were handling a single department.
Parshottam’s brother Hira, who was annoyed over not getting a cabinet berth, even held a rally in Ahmedabad to protest the ‘poor representation’ of the Koli community in the BJP-led state government.
Another key highlight of his long political career has been his indictment by the Srikrishna Commission for his alleged involvement in the 1993 Mumbai riots. He was also booked under the stringent Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly leading a rampaging mob.
Solanki’s name made headlines again in 2019 when a court issued a non-bailable warrant against him in connection with the alleged Rs 400 crore fisheries scam dating back to 2008 when he was fisheries minister. Probed by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB), the case in which former minister Dileep Sanghani was also an accused, is at the stage of framing of charges. A special ACB court had in March last year rejected a discharge petition filed by Solanki and Sanghani in this case.
A Gujarat-based journalist, who spoke to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, recounted that in the year 2000 when Keshubhai Patel was the chief minister and Solanki was junior minister of labour, the latter’s brother was booked in an attempt to murder case.
“He (Solanki) was pressuring the then home minister Haren Pandya — who had a clean image and worked by the rulebook. He (Pandya) refused to budge and resigned. Only after intervention by Keshubhai and BJP’s central leadership did Pandya return to the government but still refused to entertain Solanki’s wishes.”
A miffed Parshottam, the journalist added, organised a rally of the Koli community where he equated his brother’s arrest with an “assault on the Koli community”. Adding, such was his political clout that the “BJP accommodated him despite his tantrums”.
“Whether Solanki works for his community or not, he always stands with you (Koli community) in times of crisis and never forgets to attend weddings and birthdays. He is very practical,” said a senior Gujarat BJP leader who did not wish to be named.
Hira lost the assembly election in 2017 but remained active in the Amreli district, said Pathak, adding that Hira is like the “108 emergency service” for the people of his community. “People never forget how he (Hira) saved many during the Akshardham temple attack in 2002.”
Fight to represent Koli community
Gujarat’s Koli community, which makes up 22 per cent of the state’s total population, is concentrated mainly in the Saurashtra region. Their numbers exceed 30 per cent in a few districts, Surendranagar being among them.
Combined, Koli Patels and Koli Thakores wield considerable sway in more than 80 assembly constituencies. The BJP has over the years groomed several leaders from the Koli community in Gujarat to maintain its influence among this bloc despite divisions within on the lines of sub-castes such as Talpada Kolis, Chunvalia Kolis and Ghedia Kolis.
Talapada Kolis have a presence in Saurashtra and southern Gujarat, while Chunvalia Kolis are a key bloc in Surendranagar, the Koli Thakores in northern and central Gujarat and Ghedia Kolis in parts of Saurashtra.
Parshottam and Congress turncoat Kunvarji Bavaliya, a minister in the Rupani government (2017-2021), hail from the Talapada Koli community.
However, they are not the only leaders in Gujarat claiming to represent the Koli community.
Earlier this year, former BJP MP from Surendranagar, Devjibhai Fatepara organised a meeting of leaders of the Koli community. Among those who were not invited to the event were Union minister Mahendra Munjpara — the sitting MP from Surendranagar — and Kunvarji Bavaliya, besides Solanki, Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shiyal.
“Though his influence is not what it used to be and Bavaliya is now more popular among Kolis, Solanki still commands respect in the community. Boodha sher aakhir sher hi hota hai (an old lion is still a lion),” said a minister in the Bhupendra Patel cabinet who did not wish to be named.
Meanwhile, former BJP MP Bavaliya, who is contesting the election from Jasdan, told ThePrint: “The BJP has not given enough tickets to the Koli community. There should have been more representation but the time for that has passed. We will see after the election how many people (from the Koli community) are inducted in the cabinet if BJP forms the government.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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