The Ram Rajya Parishad (RRP), which represented conservative Hindu interests, and got support in the princely areas of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, did not have similar success in Gujarat. The main force behind this party were landed and agrarian communities, principally Rajputs, but the party could not make a base in Saurasthra or Kutch which had a similar social structure. Some aristocrats and religious figures were given party tickets, and others supported as independents, but failed to win against the Congress.
In the national elections covering Gujarat and Saurashtra: Maharaj Himmatsinhji Dowlatsinhji lost as an independent in Sabarkantha, Goswami Krishnajiwanji Gokulnathji of the RRP lost in Ahmedabad, and Nanavati Venilal of the Hindu Mahasabha lost in Sorath. Even in the first state elections of Saurashtra the Congress won 55 out of 60 seats.
The main reason seems to be that in Gujarat the Congress itself represented conservative Hindu interests. They opposed the central leadership on many issues and had a strong base in both Gujarat and Saurashtra. This was reinforced by the liberation of Junagadh from the Nawab's misrule and the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple. Sardar Patel, along with Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, NV Gadgil and KM Munshi went to Junagadh on 12 November 1947. The Rajput ruler of Nawanagar donated 1 lakh rupees for the temple reconstruction on the spot and a wider appeal for funds to the people of Saurashtra was made. The Digvijay gate at Somnath is named after this ruler: Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar, who was also the first Chairman of the Somnath Trust.
Another factor that prevented a consolidation of landed Rajpoot interests in Saurashtra towards the Ram Rajya Parishad was the Kshatriya movement in neighboring Gujarat. The leaders of that movement felt that Congress was the best bet for the socio-economic uplift of the diverse tribes and communities under the Kshatriya umbrella. In Saurashtra the Rajputs already enjoyed social prominence and economic uplift was their demand, which would come if Saurashtra developed under its own leaders, and not as a neglected region of a bigger state. The Congress played its cards right by forming a separate Saurashtra state in 1948, making the Rajput ruler of Nawanagar its first Rajpramukh, and preserving Kutch state. The Kutch Rajput Sabha and the Saurashtra Girasdar Association therefore supported the Congress.
With the general public feeling supportive of Congress, it is surprising that the Ram Rajya Parishad even found candidates for elections. Dynamic leaders like Thakur Madan Singh and Maharaja Hanwant Singh powered the RRP in Rajasthan, but such a leader could not emerge in Saurashtra or Gujarat. As the intellectual and mercantile classes backed the Congress, funding for the RRP depended entirely on contributions by its members, which was doable in Rajasthan, with such a large membership but not in Saurashtra and Kutch.
In the absence of funding, party organization, or leaders, the RRP failed but at least a start was made and this later became a mass movement behind the Swatantra Party.
In the national elections covering Gujarat and Saurashtra: Maharaj Himmatsinhji Dowlatsinhji lost as an independent in Sabarkantha, Goswami Krishnajiwanji Gokulnathji of the RRP lost in Ahmedabad, and Nanavati Venilal of the Hindu Mahasabha lost in Sorath. Even in the first state elections of Saurashtra the Congress won 55 out of 60 seats.
The main reason seems to be that in Gujarat the Congress itself represented conservative Hindu interests. They opposed the central leadership on many issues and had a strong base in both Gujarat and Saurashtra. This was reinforced by the liberation of Junagadh from the Nawab's misrule and the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple. Sardar Patel, along with Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, NV Gadgil and KM Munshi went to Junagadh on 12 November 1947. The Rajput ruler of Nawanagar donated 1 lakh rupees for the temple reconstruction on the spot and a wider appeal for funds to the people of Saurashtra was made. The Digvijay gate at Somnath is named after this ruler: Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar, who was also the first Chairman of the Somnath Trust.
Another factor that prevented a consolidation of landed Rajpoot interests in Saurashtra towards the Ram Rajya Parishad was the Kshatriya movement in neighboring Gujarat. The leaders of that movement felt that Congress was the best bet for the socio-economic uplift of the diverse tribes and communities under the Kshatriya umbrella. In Saurashtra the Rajputs already enjoyed social prominence and economic uplift was their demand, which would come if Saurashtra developed under its own leaders, and not as a neglected region of a bigger state. The Congress played its cards right by forming a separate Saurashtra state in 1948, making the Rajput ruler of Nawanagar its first Rajpramukh, and preserving Kutch state. The Kutch Rajput Sabha and the Saurashtra Girasdar Association therefore supported the Congress.
With the general public feeling supportive of Congress, it is surprising that the Ram Rajya Parishad even found candidates for elections. Dynamic leaders like Thakur Madan Singh and Maharaja Hanwant Singh powered the RRP in Rajasthan, but such a leader could not emerge in Saurashtra or Gujarat. As the intellectual and mercantile classes backed the Congress, funding for the RRP depended entirely on contributions by its members, which was doable in Rajasthan, with such a large membership but not in Saurashtra and Kutch.
In the absence of funding, party organization, or leaders, the RRP failed but at least a start was made and this later became a mass movement behind the Swatantra Party.
