Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and Patidar leader Hardik Patel were locked in a neck-and-neck contest with Amarsinh Thakor of the Aam Aadmi Party in the urban Viramgram assembly, early trends showed.
After trailing for a while, Patel had taken a slender lead of 2,371 votes over Thakor at the end of four rounds of counting. The vote count in favour of Patel stood at 14,304 votes, compared to 11,933 votes for Thakor. The sitting MLA of Viramgram, who hails from the Congress party, was seen coming a distant third, with 3,921 votes in his bag.
A native of Chandranagar village in Viramgam taluka, Hardik Patel was born and brought up in Viramgam town. He shot into prominence following the 2015 Patidar agitation for reservation in jobs, which he led. That agitation was widely credited for an impressive performance by the Congress party in 2017. Patel later joined the Congress party, but differences with the leadership of the party made him switch to BJP.
Given the nature and caste composition of the Viramgam seat, it was never easy for 29-year-old Patel to get the voting arithmetic right. There are an estimated 3 lakh voters in Viramgam, including 65,000 Thakors (OBC), 50,000 Patidars, 35,000 Dalits, 20,000 Muslims and 20,000 from the Bharwad and Rabari castes (OBC). There are also 18,000 Kolis (OBC) members and 10,000 Karadia Rajputs, also an OBC caste.
The constituency is considered insulated from caste politics as leaders from different segments of society and religions, including a minority community, have represented it so far.
Viramgam segment, which comprises Viramgam, Mandal and Detroj talukas of Ahmedabad, has been with the Congress party since 2012. The last time BJP held the Viramgam constituency was in the 2007 polls. While Bharwad relied on his past performance and work done for the people, Hardik, who joined BJP in June after spending some time in Congress, made a host of promises, including getting the status of a district for Viramgam.
Other key promises included building a modern sports complex, schools, 50-bed hospitals each in Mandal taluka, Detroj taluka and near Nal Sarovar, 1,000 government houses in Viramgam town, an industrial estate, gardens etc.
