Fresh from an electoral victory in Gujarat, independent candidate and Dalit leader backed by the Congress, Jignesh Mevani, said the time has come for “the youth to take over”.
Mevani, 37, insists that despite the Bharatiya Janata Party winning a sixth straight term, the tide was turning. “For me, it’s important that the BJP, despite a claim of 150, have come down to two digits,” the legislator from Vadgam told BloombergQuint a day after the results. BJP won 99 seats in the 182-seat house, while the Congress and its allies got 80.
BJP is losing its charm; Narendra Modi has become very boring. He is out of the context most of the time. So, time’s come for the youth to take over. Jignesh Mevani, MLA – Vadgam, Gujarat
He admitted that the Congress, which backed him, may have had a flawed strategy and should have made greater efforts on seat distribution. The impact that he had along with Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakor fell short of expectations, he said.
I admit that we are not being able to create as much influence as we expected. However, we have done great things for the people of Gujarat. Jignesh Mevani, MLA – Vadgam, Gujarat
The Congress had banked on the three young Gujarati leaders to challenge the BJP in its stronghold. While Thakor and Mevani won their seats with big margins, some top Congress leaders lost. “The message from the voter is simple,” Mevani said. “Those who fight with intensity, honesty and commitment are able to catch people’s imagination and get substantial votes.”
Mevani entered public life by leading protests after Dalit’s were assaulted in Una, Gujarat in 2016 for carrying animal carcasses. He has now hopes to take on the “devastating rule of the BJP” at the national level.
I will be going all over the country, meeting people, bringing all the groups and organisations together, including political parties, to launch an attack on BJP. Jignesh Mevani, MLA, Vadgam, Gujarat. (BY :Bloomberg Quint)
