Non-reserved communities in Gujarat seek 10% EWS quota in coming local body polls
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Photo: Express
Around 80–100 representatives from several non-reserved communities gathered in Gandhinagar on Tuesday to press for the implementation of a 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the upcoming local body elections in Gujarat.
Following the meeting, the participants said local body polls should be conducted only after the EWS reservation is extended to elections. Members of communities such as Patidars, Kshatriyas, Sonis and Brahmins attended the gathering, which they described as a “Chintan Shibir”. Among those present were Dinesh Bambhaniya, Varun Patel, Manoj Panara, Ramjubha Jadeja and Hemang Raval.
Speaking to the media later, Bambhaniya said the group expressed gratitude to both the state and central governments for introducing the 10 per cent EWS quota for non-reserved communities in education and government employment. He added that the same measure should now be applied to elections to ensure social justice, and that the community was demanding its implementation in the forthcoming local body polls.
Bambhaniya also said objections were raised to the reservation roster for local body elections that was prepared based on the recommendations of the Kalpesh Jhaveri Commission. He alleged that the roster violated Supreme Court guidelines, claiming reservations had been allotted arbitrarily instead of being based on empirical data, Indian Express reported.
He further said the group was demanding that the state government make the Jhaveri Commission report public, arguing that the 27 per cent flat OBC reservation announced for local body elections should be justified through transparent data. According to him, the communities would approach all MPs and MLAs from Gujarat to seek support for their demands.
Bambhaniya warned that if the government failed to respond positively, the communities would oppose it politically in the elections. Meanwhile, sources in the Gujarat State Election Commission indicated that elections to various local bodies, including municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats and taluka panchayats, are likely to be held during February–March.
