Gujarat poll

With the EC fixing December 1 and 5 for voting in the Gujarat Assembly elections and AAP announcing Isudan Gadhvi as its chief-ministerial candidate, the poll battle is hotting up for a triangular contest this time. Traditionally, the fight has been bipolar, with the BJP and the Congress being the main contenders. And, the state has remained in saffron hands since 1995. As new factors come into play, the BJP needs to go all out to continue its dream run. Buoyed by its win of a ward in the Surat municipal polls last month — when, significantly, the Congress failed to open its account — and the landslide victory in Punjab earlier this year, AAP has jumped into the Gujarat fray full throttle. Party chief Kejriwal has been wooing voters with his Delhi mantra of tackling problems related to electricity, water supply, health and education.

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There are other changes on the scene that threaten to dent the BJP’s ‘Hindutva’ poll plank, which has been the dominant force for its successive wins, led by the Modi-Shah duo, since 2001. The anti-incumbency sentiment cannot be discounted as the people’s restlessness over the vital issues of rising inflation and unemployment is palpable. The BJP seems to have read the people’s pulse as Gujarat has, in the last two months, bagged two mega industrial deals: the Rs 1.63 lakh-crore Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor venture and Rs 22,000-crore Tata-Airbus aircraft project.

Meanwhile, the Congress seems to have failed to capitalise on the BJP’s reduced margin of victory in the 2017 Assembly poll that reflected the voters’ waning trust in the ruling party. The rural Patidar community was especially agitated and had rebelled against the BJP’s farm policies. It worked to the advantage of the Congress as it welcomed young leaders Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakore to its fold. Unfortunately, the infighting-ridden Congress could not hold them for long as Patel and Thakore jumped ship to join the BJP. The new Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, indeed, has his task cut out. The December 8 results would reveal whether the Opposition space has been tapped effectively enough by the Congress or AAP to whet the voters’ appetite for change or the BJP still holds sway.