NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI/AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI, MAY 1
Ahead of the Gujarat assembly elections, the main opposition party Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are not leaving any stone unturned to ensure their win, reaching out to migrants in the state to persuade them to vote for their parties.
But the BJP’s strategy is not limited to Gujarat. An outreach programme has been set in motion to convince families of migrants residing in Gujarat and other states to vote for it in the 2023 Rajasthan assembly elections.
According to a senior BJP leader, Ahmedabad and Surat are home to a sizable population of migrants from Rajasthan that can play a role in the outcome of the Gujarat elections.
“The focus is to win Gujarat in 2022, Rajasthan in 2023 and Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The planning is such that we have already started the outreach programme so that we can understand what are the concerns of the people. Many of the migrants from Rajasthan who are now working in Gujarat have extended families and relatives who stay in Rajasthan. When we hold such programmes in Gujarat, the message reaches Rajasthan too,” the senior BJP functionary told ThePrint, a leading web portal.
- Though the migrants have been used by the political parties to fulfil their aims, they have been denied the facility of learning their mother tongue. For them, the NEP is nothing but a mirage, says a retired Tamil teacher on the condition of anonymity.
- Incidentally, all language schools run by the Ahmedabad Municipal School Board for migrants from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu had been shut down stating that there were no minimum strength.
Satish Poonia, president of the BJP’s Rajasthan unit, had in March toured several parts of Gujarat, urging the diaspora to vote for the party in the assembly elections in both states. During his visits to Ahmedabad and Surat as part of the Pravasi Rajasthani outreach programme, Poonia had stressed that there should be constant communication between what he termed as “migrant brothers and sisters’.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was also present at one of these public meetings, a BJP functionary pointed out.
Interacted with prominent Tamil origin eminent business people in Ahmedabad today as part of the session organised by Karnavati Tamil Sangam, Ahmedabad.
Each of them are our role models who carry our Tamil Pride along with Gujarati hard work! pic.twitter.com/p3FLyWZWH6
— K.Annamalai (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@annamalai_k) April 17, 2022
Pleasure to meet our Tamizh brethren settled in Ahmedabad who have added colour & depth to the vibrant state of Gujarat
Was an honour to participate in the Tamil New Year celebrations by Karnavati Tamil Sangam in Ahmedabad today! pic.twitter.com/TCgtQtlTws
— K.Annamalai (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@annamalai_k) April 17, 2022
Former IPS officer and president of Tamil Nadu BJP unit K Annamalai was the chief guest of an Ahmedabad-based Tamil Sangam function held in Tamil-dominated Maninagar-Khokhra area on April 17. Prime Minister had represented Maninagar Assembly constituency twice as chief minister of Gujarat. Ahead of all Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, TN BJP leaders used to campaign not only in Ahmedabad but also Vadodara and other Tamil-dominated areas.
During the last Assembly polls, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had canvassed for her party in these areas. In 2012, senior BJP leader and present Governor of Manipur Ela Ganesan-led team had campaigned in Gujarat.
Not to lag behind TN BJP unit, Congress leaders from the Dravidian land also used to campaign in these areas. Former Puducherry CM Narayanaswamy and the present CM Rangasamy had also campaigned for their respective parties and alliance partners.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee vice-president and educationist Rengabhoopathy took part in an event conducted by Ahmedabad Tamil Sangam, an NGO working for the welfare of Tamils in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar on April 16.
The newly-appointed Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee Women’s Wing president Jenny Viji Thummar on Sunday took part in a women’s day function organised by Kakkum Karanagal or Protective Hands, working for the uplift of economically poor Tamil women in CTM area. Incidentally, all language schools run by the Ahmedabad Municipal School Board for migrants from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu had been shut down stating that there were no minimum strength. And above all, Ahmedabad Tamil Higher Secondary School run by a minority language Trust in Maninagar, only school of its kind in Gujarat was ordered to close it on the flimsy ground of inadequate strength. This was done despite the AIADMK government run by Edappadi Palanisamy had offered to bear the cost of running the Tamil schools. Though the migrants have been used by the political parties to fulfil their aims, they have been denied the facility of learning their mother tongue. For them, the NEP is nothing but a mirage, says a retired Tamil teacher on the condition of anonymity.
Thanks to TN CM’s intervention, Ahmedabad Tamil Higher Secondary School to get a fresh leaf of life
“There is a BJP cell that caters to such communities. The convenor of that cell hails from Rajasthan. There are a number of Rajasthani migrants in Gujarat who have been doing business or engaged in the service industry for decades. The fact that Poonia ji came despite elections being so far right now shows the commitment of the party towards Rajasthani migrants,” said Yamal Vyas, chief spokesperson of Gujarat BJP.
With an eye on the 2023 assembly elections in Rajasthan, Poonia has also been reaching out to migrants from Rajasthan living and working in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
It’s a pity that all national parties have ‘Other Languages Cell’ which are activated only at the time of polls and remaining dormant rest of the time.
