Gujarat Assembly Elections 2017: This constituency helped turn CM Modi into PM Modi
Moneycontrol visits Sanand, where Narendra Modi's decision to rescue Tata's dream of making a car for the common man cemented his image as a progressive leader.
December 12, 2017 / 15:57 IST
Tata Motors | Company sold 49,650 vehicles in November 2020 against 41,124 units in November 2020. (Image: Reuters)
Situated just 21 kilometres from Ahmedabad, Sanand is an important marker on India's industrial map. The city came into prominence close to a decade ago when Tata Motors shifted its Nano car project here from West Bengal's Singur in the wake of a farmers' agitation.
Narendra Modi was Gujarat's chief minister at the time and his decision to rescue Tata's dream of making a car for the common man cemented his image as a progressive leader. Some political pundits say it was this masterstroke that propelled him from chief minister to prime minister.
As Sanand gets set to vote in the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections on December 14, Moneycontrol visited the constituency to capture the mood.
Sanand isn't a bastion of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In fact, the sitting MLA is a Congress leader. But voters here say Modi's vision is responsible for the development that has taken place here. And it's not all about big business.
A tea vendor seated outside the front gate of the Tata Motors plant says he is earning well. "After Tata Motors entered this area, so many other companies set up shop. I earn well when employees take breaks," he says.
An auto driver concurs. He owns four bighas of land in Sanand, which he now says is worth at least Rs 2 crore-3 crore.
"Before the Tata plant came up, the price of land was just Rs 1 lakh-2 lakh per bigha. Now, you can easily get Rs 50 lakh-60 lakh per bigha. Most of the people in Sanand have benefited from this new plant," he says.
But everyone isn't happy. One village in this constituency is still waiting to reap the benefits of development and has decided to boycott the upcoming election. Vadnagar, not to be confused with the prime minister's birthplace, has put up a notice at its entrance making its grievances known.
"We are fortunate to have a prime minister like Narendra Modi, but other political leaders are not listening to us and that is why we are boycotting these elections," says Kanu Bhai Patel, a resident of Vadnagar.
His niece echoed this sentiment. “We are not against any party. This village is 100 percent literate and we know the importance of single vote. But we don’t have any other choice," she says.
Despite their disappointments, the duo did admit that the BJP had a done great deal to develop Sanand in general.
One resident puts things in perspective. “You can judge the development of Sanand on the basis that Krishan Lila Hotel has become Le Tokyo Hotel since there are so many Japanese visitors here,” he says.
Sanand is quickly coming up as a 'smart city' and the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority is also taking interest in developing land here. But jobs are a concern and locals feel Gujaratis should be given a quota in companies that set up shop in the area.
Bhikha Raman Bhai Patel, an influential figure in Sanand who is backing an independent candidate, offers a solution. "For Gujaratis to get a job at these companies we need training centres so that there will be no mismatch in talent." he says. "In the last 10 years, the per capita income of residents here has increased because of new companies being set up."
A local shopkeeper sees the glass as only half full.
“Only 50 percent of the companies have started operating under the mandate of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation. Once things are in full swing, the picture will be different," he says.
