Gujarat BJP Plans Three-Day Tribal Outreach Across Reserved Seats After Dussehra

What Happened

The ruling BJP in Gujarat is preparing a 72-hour outreach across all 27 Scheduled Tribe-reserved Assembly constituencies following Dussehra. Ministers, MPs, and MLAs will camp in villages, visit schools and Anganwadis, and hold gram sabhas to promote the party's development agenda and counter the opposition. A confidential party booklet lays out itineraries covering every taluka in the tribal belt, which stretches from Ambaji in the north to Umargam in the south and is known as the Poorvi Patti.

Political Context

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the Congress won 17 of the 27 ST seats, while its ally the Bharatiya Tribal Party won two and the BJP secured eight. By 2022, the BJP's tally rose to 23 seats, dropping the Congress to three and allowing the Aam Aadmi Party to win one seat through Chaitar Vasava in Dediapada. All four ST-reserved Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat are currently held by the BJP. However, recent local body polls in April showed setbacks for the BJP in Narmada, Bharuch, and Chhota Udepur districts, while AAP secured victories in several local panchayats.

Party Strategy

Bharuch MP Mansukh Vasava stated that the overnight village stays will help showcase government work, such as the Pradhan Mantaari Kusum Yojana, solar power projects, and tribal universities, while also exposing organisational gaps. A Tribal Morcha leader noted that direct movement by leaders prevents local workers from micro-managing public responses. The outreach also comes against the backdrop of local disputes, including farmer protests in Sagbara taluka over forest land cultivation and the emergence of groups like the AC Bharat Sarkar Sangathan.

Context

Tribal communities comprise roughly 80 lakh people out of Gujarat's 6.5 crore population and make up about 14 percent of the state's electorate, living mainly across 14 districts near the borders of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. The BJP has consistently worked to strengthen its base in these regions by highlighting national welfare schemes, infrastructure development, and cultural recognitions like the presidency of Droupadi Murmu.