BJP or AAP: Who will win support of Surat diamond workers?

Surat: Diamond workers of Surat could make a difference to the election outcome in at least half a dozen seats of Gujarat where they have a numerically significant presence, political experts say.

There are around 15 lakh diamond workers in Gujarat, including nearly seven lakh employed in units in Surat, which is the largest hub of cutting and polishing of these precious stones.

The remaining workers are employed in units located in Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Amreli, Junagadh and a few other northern districts of the state, as per industry sources.

Representatives of the diamond workers in Surat have already appealed to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the opposition Congress and the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party to raise their concerns about the Rs 200 professional tax being collected from them by the local civic body and demand for the implementation of labour laws in the diamond industry.

These voters played an important role in helping the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP win 27 out of the total 120 seats in the Surat Municipal Corporation elections in 2021, and could impact the party's prospects in the Gujarat assembly elections to be held on December 1 and 5, experts say.

Nearly seven lakh workers, also known as ratna kalakars, are engaged in cutting and polishing rough diamonds in Surat city, with majority of them sharing a common connection as they hail from the state's Saurashtra region and belong to the Patidar community, political analyst Dilip Gohil told PTI. Even workers belonging to non-Patidar communities from Saurashtra are settled in Surat and share a common bond with them, he said.

"They know each other well and are interconnected...It is easy for the diamond workers to mobilise support for a particular political party. Owners of the diamond cutting and polishing units, who have traditionally supported the BJP, also influence the decision of their workers about which party to support," Gohil said.

The outcome in Varachha Road, Katargam, Karanj, Kamrej, and Surat (North) assembly seats in Surat is impacted by people from Saurashtra settled there and engaged in the diamond cutting and polishing industry as well as embroidery and other related jobs, he added.

Last year, the AAP had won 27 civic seats in areas falling under these Assembly segments mainly because of the support of the Patidar community and a large section of diamond workers, Gohil said.

The AAP clearly considers these among its safest seats in Gujarat as it has fielded its state chief Gopal Italia from Katargam and general secretary Majoj Sorathiya from Karanj, he said.

It has fielded prominent Patidar quota agitation leader Alpesh Kathiria from Varachha Road, Surat AAP chief Mahendra Navadiya from Surat (North), and party worker Ram Dhaduk, who unsuccessfully contested the 2017 election on the party ticket, from Kamrej. The BJP, which had won all these seats in the 2017 assembly polls, is playing safe as it has given tickets to its sitting MLAs in four of these five seats, except Kamrej seat where it has fielded Praful Panseria.

Talking to PTI, diamond industrialist and Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council regional chairman Dinesh Navadiya, who was keen on contesting in Varachha Road from the BJP but was not given the ticket, claimed the AAP's prospects of winning these seats are not as bright as they appear.

"The AAP is not likely to leave any impact in the election. Diamond unit owners will continue their support to the BJP. In the corporation election, the AAP won in seats held by the Congress, and the BJP was not much impacted. When we look at the vote share, nothing new happened, only the party changed," he said.