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Change, EVMs talk of town

VADODARA/AHMEDABAD: As campaigning gathers steam for the second phase of polling scheduled for December 14 and people mark their loyalties in rural areas with party flags fluttering atop their homes, two things can be said with certainty about this assembly election — Gujarat seems desperate for change, almost restless, and nobody trusts the electronic voting machines (EVMs).



Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Vadodara/Ahmedabad, Dec 10

As campaigning gathers steam for the second phase of polling scheduled for December 14 and people mark their loyalties in rural areas with party flags fluttering atop their homes, two things can be said with certainty about this assembly election — Gujarat seems desperate for change, almost restless, and nobody trusts the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The 22 years of the BJP rule in the state has left the Gujaratis craving for a change that has, so far, eluded them. However, they believe this election, in the past many years, is different from the cakewalk of the past for the BJP.

For starters, the Congress seems to have, finally, arrived on the scene after a “marginalised” existence, making it a closely fought bi-polar contest. This election also stamps the leadership credentials of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi who, in the driver’s seat, seems “a man with a job on hand”. “Rahul, practically his party’s face this election has been accepted as a leader which is essentially why the Congress is in the game this time round,” political observers maintain.

Though this is also the first assembly election the state BJP is fighting without Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm in the state, he is extensively touring the state to win support for his party. Anti-incumbency dovetailed with the rise of Hardik Patel as the face of the Patidar-discontent and Modi-baiter, the consolidation of the Dalits under Jignesh Mevani and the coming together of the OBCs under Alpesh Thakor have all added to the BJP’s long list of woes.

If that is not all, the snub of demonetisation to the common man, GST blow to the state’s trading community and the spurt in the unemployment are weighing the BJP down.

“Traders are sore with the GST rollout and business has taken a beating. Demonetisation hit everybody hard. The Congress is making its presence felt effectively and has roped in the ‘anti-BJP’ brigade for support. All these put together augur poorly for the BJP which is sweating it out in the field,” says Indukumar Jani, executive president of the Gujarat Khet Vikas Parishad.

Gujaratis believe this is the one election which could turn into a “game-changer” where the BJP can get buried under its own weight.

In the eyes of the common man, the EVMs are suspect. “The confidence with which the BJP is declaring it will win raises serious doubts. The EVMs are, after all, machines which can be programmed and tampered with. Nobody has faith in them,” explains Ahmedabad’s Ashok Kumar, speaking on behalf of his friends as they discuss politics.

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties even represented to the Chief Election Commissioner against the use of EVMs. “We urged them to replace the EVMs with ballot papers. The recently concluded Uttar Pradesh local bodies’ election results have shown that substituting EVMs with ballot papers can throw up completely different results. The BJP did poorly in places where ballots were used,” said Prof Hemant Kumar Shah, associated with the PUCL. The BJP leaders, however, are not convinced about any anti-incumbency factor against the BJP or the doubts over the EVMs.

State leaders term this as propaganda of the opposition headed for a rout. “This is the most convenient excuse with the opposition because we are winning,” says Yamal Vyas of the state BJP.

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