The Koli community, highly influential in various parts of the state, has asked the two main political parties to give its members their due.
Around 200 office bearers of the Koli community from 15 states met at the meeting convened in Ahmedabad by the Gujarat State Koli Samaj, where they asked political parties to stop using the community as a vote-bank.
"There is a feeling that both BJP and Congress are using Kolis just for their votes. There are more than 30 Koli community MLAs in the Gujarat assembly, but not a single good ministry has been given. The Congress too has overlooked our senior community leader Kunvarji Bavaliya for the post of leader of opposition. Our demand before the political parties is that the community should be given its due," Chandravadan Pithawalla, president of Gujarat State Koli Samaj, said.
Pithawalla said that the demand was not either for Purshottam Solanki, who had expressed unhappiness on being given only fisheries ministry, or Kunvarji Bavaliya, but the community as a whole.
Incidentally, neither Solanki nor Bavaliya attended the meeting. Pithawalla, who had contested from Surat Lok Sabha seat in 2009 as a Congress candidate, said that they had already informed about their non-participation,
"The meeting was not just about the situation in Gujarat. Koli community leaders from several other states, including a few which will go to elections soon, were also present. The unanimous view was that the community is not getting its due from political parties," he said.
Pithawalla said that going ahead, the Koli Samaj would work to bring all MLAs from the community, irrespective of the party they represent, on one platform.
"We will together decide how to take ahead the community's agenda and interests," he added. Influential Koli leader Purshottam Solanki, a five-term MLA, was unhappy after the new government took over as he was given only the fisheries ministry. He was reportedly assured of better portfolio at the time of expansion of ministry. Similarly, senior Congress MLA Kunvarji Bavaliya, who also heads the Akhil Bhartiya Koli Samaj, was among the contenders as leader of opposition, but Congress nominated Patidar MLA Paresh Dhanani for the post.
