The poll-bound Gujarat has become a stage of rallies and yatras recently, with both the Congress and BJP beginning their election campaigns from Saurashtra and Karamsad respectively.
Though the election commission is yet to finalize the date for the Gujarat Assembly elections due in Dec this year, both BJP and Congress have come out on the grounds to give a tough fight to each other. While Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi began Navsarjan Gujarat Yatra from Saurashtra later last month, BJP Party President Amit Shah blew the horns declaring the beginning of the party’s Gujarat Gaurav Yatra on Sunday, from Karamsad.
It is going to be a tough fight for both the parties. With situations of anti-incumbency arising in the state, Congress is likely to take the advantage and BJP firm on getting less than a victory will try to win the polls by hook or by crook.
Though BJP has been ruling the state for 19 years, out of whichPrime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister for 13 years, it is getting hard for the party to remain in power. With the Patidars and the OBC along with the Muslims protesting against BJP, the opposition trying to grab the opportunity is luring these communities to join hands with the Congress.
Rahul Gandhi completed the first phase of his Navsarjan Gujarat Yatra earlier last week, attacking BJP and educating the failures of the ruling government.
Just a few days after the Congress began its campaign, BJP also hit the grounds not wanting to much late than its competitors. BJP seemed to have been in a bit of a relax mode, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being the national face for the party. The party assumed that Modi being a BJP leader will be enough to lure in the voters to support them. But the recent developments in the state, as well as the nation, has awakened the party in Gujarat.
The Patidars led by Hardik Patel which comprises almost 14% of the voting population has more than once indicated to extend its support to Congress. While Jignesh Mevani representing the Dalits has also many times shown the communities discontent against BJP and interest towards Congress. Also, Alpesh Thakor leader of the OBC is also unhappy with the ruling government and has expressed his disagreement against BJP many times.
With the minorities and backward classes unhappy with the ruling BJP and agitated of being neglected for too long, Congress may get an upper hand if it plays strategically. The party’s campaign slogan ‘Vikas gando thayo chhe’ Vikas gone crazy is getting viral on the social media and is being accepted by the people. This is being regarded as a positive sign for the party.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to counterattack the Congress, party President Amit Shah began the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra on Sunday from Karamsad, the birthplace of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. BJP launched with the slogan ‘I am Vikas, I am Gujarat’. While addressing the gathering on Sunday Amit Shah boasted about the achievements of the BJP government and listed down all the developments that had been done under the current government.
“A lot of developmental work and people-oriented progress has been done by the Narendra Modi government in the past three years. It is the duty of our karyakartas to go and explain this to the people,” he said.
Attacking Rahul Gandhi, Shah said that people are asking to give an account of the progress made by BJP but what about the injustice that three generations have done to Gujarat.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, present for the rally, also attacked the Congress during his speech. He said that development may be a matter of joke for the opposition but for BJP it is a matter of pride for the party and pride of Gujarat. This statement was a clear attack on the slogan that Congress is using for the campaign, ‘Vikas Gone Crazy’.
Gujarat BJP President Jitubhai Vaghani also while addressing the gathering said that the Congress was trying to de-thrown BJP since 2002, but is failing over and over again. The opposition has always tried to be a hindrance to the progress and development in Gujarat. He also assured that people had been rejecting Congress for so many years and these elections will be no different.
Though the party leaders boasted about the confidence of BJP’s victory, the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra spoke something else. The Yatra was to begin at 9 am on Sunday, however, it was delayed and could start only after noon. The party insiders admitted that the delay was due to the lack of expected number of people to gather. Amit Shah made the appearance and began the campaign only after a sizeable number of people gathered for the rally.
The Yatra after beginning late from the scheduled time received another blow when agitated Patidars shouted slogans against the BJP. Patidar youth shouted ‘General Dyer go back‘ and ‘BJP down, down’. This is not the first time that the Patidars have used Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, the British army officer responsible for the 1919 Jalianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, to protest against the BJP president. They raised slogans – ‘Jay Sardar Jay Patidar’.
‘General Dyer Go Back’ – Patidars to @AmitShah
Shah’s event in Gujarat didn’t get the response he may have hoped for…. #DyerWire pic.twitter.com/NLhMQPvfdC— AMMOLH KHODKAY (@AmolvKhodke) June 5, 2017
This is the second time that Amit Shah is facing the protest of the Patidar youth in the past year. Last September also, the BJP Party President was forced to cut down his speech at a meeting in Surat, when hundreds of angry Patidars started throwing chairs in the direction of the dais. The police had to use batons and tear gas to get the situation under control.
However. BJP trying to use this disruption in its favour to downplay the opposition said that it might have been the Congress who triggered the protest. BJP spokesperson Jagdish Bhavsar said: “We don’t know whether they [protesters] were Patidars or stooges of Congress party. We will know about this only after the police conduct a proper investigation into the incident.”
Meanwhile, another BJP leader Harshad Patel, who heads the BJP’s media cell in Gujarat, said, “The protestors were very small in number and could not disturb the meeting.”
The party president will launch the second rally on 2 Oct from Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. This will be led by state BJP president Jitubhai Vaghani.
As a part of the election campaign ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls due in Dec this year, BJP will be hosting four such Gujarat Gaurav Yatra. It will begin from Central Gujarat, Saurashtra, North Gujarat and South Gujarat and culminate in Ahmedabad in a massive BJP rally. The mega rally is likely to be held on 15 Oct and Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Amit Shah.
Also, there are rumours that Congress held an influencer audit and the results have left the party quite bewildered. However, Congress completely denies carrying out any such audits. The sources though confirmed that study was indeed carried out to gauge the mood of the communities. According to the results, there is definitely a shift in the voter’s support to the party, but Congress might not be able to enjoy much gain from it.
According to the experts in the prevailing situations in Gujarat, the independent candidates are likely to be benefitted the most. A Congress senior leader said that “It is going to be a tough contest this time and in a few seats the calls will be really close where independents or disgruntled candidates can cause serious damage.”
It seems like the fate of the next government in Gujarat is in the hands of the independent candidates and the Patidars, Dalits, OBC’s and the Muslims. The direction in which these communities move and extend their support will decide which party will sit on the throne next.
Now it is up to the parties to find a way to fight this challenge of luring these communities to their sides and nail the victory in Gujarat. If the Congress manages to get to the ruling after almost 19 years, this may be a major blow to BJP ahead of the General elections due in 2019.