Ex-BJP MP, farmer leader Vitthal Radadiya dies after prolonged illness

RAJKOT: Vitthal Radadiya, one of the tallest Patidar community leaders and former MP from Porbandar, died at his residence in Ahmedabad after a battling a prolonged illness.

Radadiya, 61, an influential cooperative sector leader with immense popularity among farmers of Saurashtra, had represented Dhoraji assembly constituency five times since 1993 on Congress ticket.Even as he started his career with BJP, he shifted loyalty to Rashtriya Janta Party (RJP) floated by Shankersinh Vaghela in 1995. RJP later merged with Congress and Radadiya continued his winning streak.
Known as a ‘Dabang’ neta in Saurashtra, the Leuva Patel strongman returned to the saffron fold in 2013, apparently miffed at not getting a ministerial berth in UPA-2 even as he had won the Porbandar Lok Sabha seat second time in row, that too when strong Modi wave was sweeping Gujarat. Despite shifting political loyalties, there was not a slightest erosion in his electoral base as he again won the Porbandar seat in the by-poll and retained it in 2014 general election with a margin of nearly 1.45 lakh votes. Along with Radadiya, his son Jayesh too had joined the BJP. Jayesh is the minister for tourism in the Vijay Rupani government.
Radadiya was known to call spade a spade as he was vociferously represented farmers’ issues even it meant speaking out against the government of his own party. He had bitterly opposed legal action against farmers in instances of Asiatic lions getting electrocuted by electric fencing installed by farmers to ward off nil gai and other animals that ravaged their crops. Radadiya had created a flutter by demanding that the forest officers should be booked for murder if a farmer is killed by lions.
Farmers remember him as a person with feet firmly grounded and one who was easily accessible. “He used to visit every village in his constituency regularly and even share a cup of tea and gathiya anyone familiar he met on the road. He always gave a patient hearing to our problems and brought about a solution,” said Ramesh Dhaduk, Porbandar BJP MP, told TOI.
When Patidar quota stir led by Hardik Patel was at its peak, BJP fell back on Radadiya to strike a truce between the state government and Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS). Interestingly, Radadiya had backed the demand for reservations for Patidars. In February 2016, Radadiya even met Hardik in Surat’s Lajpore jail, but his efforts were in vain as PAAS termed his as a ‘traitor’ for toeing government line. Radadiya later blasted Hardik saying he had lost ‘mental balance’ and was only trying to project himself as the ‘hero’ of the community.
Radadiya also served as a director of IFFCO and was the chairman of the Rajkot District Co-operative Bank.