New Delhi: Wooing OBCs is turning out to be a key strategy of political parties in the election-bound state of Gujarat. After the Congress secured the support of OBC leader from the state Alpesh Thakore to its side, the BJP is likely to highlight Congress’s “betrayal” to the community when the main Opposition “stalled” a key legislation in Parliament on the OBC commission. The BJP will use this poll plank in Kartanaka also where elections are schduled early next year. Gujarat elections will likely take place in December.

A day after Mr Thakore announced that he will join the Congress, BJP sources sought to play down its impact, saying he is an “untested electoral player”. Mr Thakore had also met BJP president Amit Shah some time ago before he made his announcement after meeting Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

“Unlike the Congress, we have a string of well-entrenched community leaders across Gujarat. We could not have conceded so much to an outsider as the Congress, which has been out of power for over 22 years and has seen desertion by its top leaders,” a BJP leader said, noting that its pre-eminent leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hails from an OBC caste. BJP president Amit Shah had recently addressed an OBC meets in Gujarat.

The BJP will also highlight the Centre’s decision to raise the creamy layer cap for OBC families to Rs 8 lakh from Rs 6 lakh.