Hardik Patel’s antagonist in the Congress camp

AHMEDABAD: OBC leader Alpesh Thakor (43) added liquor to the mobilization mix of quota politics to project himself as a man who could command crowds on Gujarat’s stage. He aced his maiden electoral test, posting a victory in Radhanpur in Patan. Alpesh defeated his closest rival, BJP's Lavingji Thakor, by 14,857 votes.

Alpesh, the convener of the Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena (GKTS), formed the SC-ST-OBC Ekta Manch as a counter to Hardik Patel's Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti that demands OBC quota for Patels. Alpesh was inducted into the Congress in October by Congress president Rahul Gandhi. On Monday, Alpesh expressed sadness over the Congress' loss, but promised to give stern opposition to the BJP.

“We fought a good fight but perhaps our efforts were not enough. Jignesh Mevani has also won and we will ensure that truth prevails in society," said Alpesh. Thakor had secured seven tickets from the Congress, including one for himself. Three of his nominees have won: Bharat Thakor in Bechraji, Rajendrasinh Thakor in Modasa, and Geniben Thakor in Vav. Geni is a Congress leader and Alpesh wanted her to take on BJP minister Shankar Chaudhary. “Alpesh will work as a

Congress MLA

. The high command will decide his future role,” said Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki.

Thakor officially forayed into the political arena by rallying a large number of his community members on January 26, 2016, to take the pledge to fight liquor addiction. The de-addiction rally was a surrogate show of strength against the Patidar community’s demand for the OBC status.

Thakor, who was already the leader of the GKTS at that stage, could tap into a ready constituency to draw crowds. He then moved to broaden his appeal by creating the SC-STOBC Ekta Manch and promising to thwart any Patidar incursion into quotas in government jobs and education.

Thakor continued to organize rallies regularly, calibrating his aggression towards the government to keep it just short of provoking the state’s backlash. For instance, he announced a march to Gandhinagar to disrupt the Vibrant Gujarat summit in January 2017 and called for a lock down of Tata’s plant in Sanand in February that year. His calls for action were meant to bring attention to unemployment among his community’s youth. However, he acted on neither of the threats. He was careful not to antagonize all of the establishment: he famously called Anandiben Patel, the Gujarat chief minister at the time, the only man in the BJP cabinet.