Demand for 10% EWS quota raised ahead of Gujarat local body elections

With local body elections in Gujarat expected to be held after the publication of the final electoral rolls in SIR exercise, the demand for a 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) has gained momentum, raising concerns for the state government.

Leaders from Patidar, Kshatriya and other non-reserved communities met at the Gandhinagar Circuit House on Tuesday to discuss the issue in detail. The meeting saw representatives from multiple communities come together on a common platform to press for the implementation of EWS reservation in local body elections.

Participants decided to form a separate committee comprising representatives from all communities to pursue the demand for a 10% EWS quota. It was also resolved that a formal representation would be submitted to the Chief Minister, seeking the implementation of the reservation in the forthcoming municipal and panchayat polls. Similar memoranda are to be submitted to Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly.

Speakers at the meeting alleged that earlier representations seeking the implementation of the recommendations of the Jhaveri Commission in elections had not been acted upon and claimed that discrimination had occurred in the process of implementing those recommendations.

Leaders warned that if the government failed to take the demand seriously, an agitation on the lines of the Patidar reservation movement could be launched. “If the demand for a 10% EWS reservation in local body elections is ignored, a mass movement will be inevitable,” one of the participants said.