DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i01.020

Pages: 115-117

The recent election in Gujarat is considered as one of the semi-finals of the General Elections in 2019. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again proved their strength in Gujarat with the support of urban, middle class, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) vote bank along with their Hindutva ideology. Amit Shah’s micro poll management strategy (Panna Pramukh) also worked out for the party at the grassroots levels. On the other hand, The Indian National Congress (INC) tried to gain the anti-incumbency vote bank through the support of young leaders like Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor, and Jignesh Mevani. The leadership of Rahul Gandhi also tested in the recent elections. The Patel Reservations, Good and Sales Tax (GST), Demonetisation, Dalit issues, OBCs concerns and the pride of Gujarati were the issues widely debated in the poll campaigning of both parties. The other important factor of this election is the rise of the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) that is having significant vote bank in tribal areas. This paper will concentrate on the above-mentioned issues and examines the voting behavior of OBCs.