Saurashtra: Where Narendra Modi fears to tread

Everybody might like to link Narendra Modi’s name to the elections in Gujarat. Everybody - except the people of Rajkot in Saurashtra, who seem to have been ignored in the Vibrant Gujarat story. CNN-IBN travelled to the heart of the drought situation in Gujarat to find out the real story.

The situation in Saurashtra is pretty grim, as the lack of water is really expected to hit the farmers hard. One of the worst hit among them are the cotton farmers, who have suffered because of the lack of rain this year.

Most of the farmers have sold the cotton pod from the fields as fodder for the cattle in the hope of earning some money over their investment as the crops have failed and they stand to bear heavy losses.

In the Muvi village of Rajkot, there are instances of farmers who have committed suicide under the weight of a severe debt. In most instances, these debts will be repaid by the families that are already struggling to emerge from poverty.

The empty mandi of Gondal- one of the largest in the region, bear testimony to the failure of the cotton crop in this region.

The other factor that should worry the Gujarat CM is the Leuva Patel community in the Rajkot region - one of the strongholds of this community. In 2006, the BJP lost the seat and the influence of this community was thought to be one of the strongest.

And the Patels are already capitalising on their strength to bring people together. An influential businessman from Rajkot, Naresh Patel is now the man-of-the-season.

Naresh, head of the Khodalkham Trust, has already organised large meetings to start construction on a Ma Unnya temple - a show of strength that could have ramifications for the political future of Gujarat.

On a lighter note, Rajkot can be proud that one of its sons - Cheteshwar Pujara is now part of the Indian Test Cricket team.