Congress Leaders Distance From Gujarat Elections
Gujarat, 28th October 2022: The dates for the assembly elections in Gujarat can be announced any day now. Even before the election bugle sounded, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is contesting on all seats for the first time, have heated the atmosphere through large rallies and road shows. PM Modi has conducted many rallies for BJP, so AAP’s convener Arvind Kejriwal is also making a quick tour. However, the main opposition party, the Congress, which gave a tough fight to the BJP in the 2017 elections, especially the Gandhi family, have kept a distance from Gujarat. Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are yet to start their election campaign. Some people are surprised by this, while some political experts are seeing this as a special strategy.
Rahul Gandhi, the declared and undeclared candidate for the post of Prime Minister in the Congress party, is on Bharat Jodo Yatra these days. Rahul’s caravan on foot from Kanyakumari to Kashmir will not reach Gujarat. If he will campaign in Gujarat after taking a break from the yatra has not been cleared by the party yet. But party sources say that Rahul Gandhi will not be as active as in the last election. They may consider holding their rallies when polling is near. But at the moment there is no schedule fixed.
If party sources are to be believed, there is a special strategy behind the Gandhi family staying away from Gujarat. The main opposition party is trying to prevent this election from being Modi vs Congress or Modi vs Gandhi family. In the previous elections, Modi has cashed in on many attacks by the Gandhi family. The Congress has suffered a lot in the past with attacks like Maut Ka Saudagar, Vikas Pagal Gaya and Chowkidar Chor Hai. Making allegations like dynasty and corruption, PM Modi has been attacking the Gandhi family and has been calling them against Gujarati identity. If political experts are to be believed, PM Modi is successful in giving a ‘national’ form to the election with the help of the Gandhi family, and in such a situation local issues become secondary.
The members of the Gandhi family may not be holding rallies in Gujarat yet, but staying in Delhi is paying full attention to strategy. In July itself, Priyanka Gandhi brainstormed with the leaders of Gujarat in Delhi and made a special strategy. As interim president, Sonia Gandhi constituted a task force, which included leaders like P Chidambaram, Mukul Wasnik, KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala. Apart from these, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has also been sent there as a senior observer, under whose leadership the party performed well five years ago.
The Congress is relying on local leadership to cash in on the “anti-incumbency wave” against the BJP, which has been in power in Gujarat for 27 years. The party believes that after Modi, the BJP’s leadership in Gujarat has weakened, and elections should be fought to keep local issues at the centre. The party may be avoiding big rallies, but efforts are on to reach out to the voters through small gatherings. PM Modi has warned his workers about this secret bet of Congress. PM Modi has mentioned this on the stage during his rallies in Gujarat in recent times.
