Alpesh Thakor is an Indian politician from the state of Gujarat. He rose to public prominence as a community organiser among the Other Backward Classes (OBC), particularly the Thakor community, before entering electoral politics. He has been associated with multiple political parties during his career, including the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
| Name | Alpesh Thakor |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| State | Gujarat |
| Occupation | Politician, community leader |
| Known for | Leadership of Thakor and OBC community mobilisation in Gujarat |
| Parties associated | Indian National Congress; Bharatiya Janata Party |
Thakor belongs to the Thakor community, one of the larger OBC groupings in Gujarat. Before entering electoral politics, he was active in social campaigns, most notably on issues related to alcohol and substance abuse in rural Gujarat, and on demands relating to OBC welfare and reservation. This grassroots activism helped him build a base across the northern and central districts of the state.
Thakor emerged on the state political stage during the period of mobilisation by various caste-based youth leaders in Gujarat in the mid-2010s. He was associated with organisations representing the Thakor and OBC communities, and used these platforms to engage with state-level politics.
He joined the Indian National Congress and contested the Gujarat Legislative Assembly election as a Congress candidate, winning a seat in the Assembly. During his tenure, he was regarded as one of the younger faces in the Congress's Gujarat unit, alongside other community-based leaders who had aligned with the party at that time.
He subsequently parted ways with the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, continuing his political work within the framework of the ruling party in Gujarat.
Thakor's career is often discussed as part of a wider phenomenon in Gujarat politics in which young community leaders from Patidar, OBC and Dalit groups gained statewide visibility through agitations and then translated that visibility into electoral roles. His shifts between parties have been cited as illustrative of the fluid alignments between community-based movements and mainstream political organisations in the state.