Ali Kattaiat
While the eyes of sports lovers are on Qatar, where the World Cup is being held, India’s eyes are on the Gujarat assembly elections. The campaigning for the Gujarat assembly elections is like the excitement for sports fans. Veer and Vashi are strong in Gujarat. Gujarat was a part of Bombay state in 1957 and became a new state in 1960. The first election was held in 1962. Gujarat is home to the Prime Minister and Home Minister. In the 27-year BJP-ruled state, strong anti-incumbency sentiment is reflected in villages and towns without distinction.
Youth unemployment is the biggest challenge facing the BJP. Gujarat is a land of billionaires, but the gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening. Due to this, the number of people living below poverty is higher than India’s average. There is strong resentment among the traders over the implementation of GST. Another popular topic in Gujarat was the Morbi suspension bridge collapse that killed around 140 people, including 53 children. The government has even faced criticism from the Gujarat High Court for this tragedy. There is a strong protest among the people that even after the tragedy, neither the Chief Minister nor the Prime Minister nor the BJP leadership has even expressed regret. The government is also very backward in the economic field.
The DGP growth rate, which was 11 percent, fell below 8 percent. In the field of health, Gujarat is far behind compared to other states. BJP still upholds the glory of Narendra Modi who was the Chief Minister from 1995 to 2014. After Narendra Modi, three chief ministers had to be tested in the last eight years. This proves the failure of BJP’s governance. Anand Patel was the chief minister for only two years. The issue they raised was governance failure. Later Vijay tried Rupani. In September 2021, Vijay Rupani resigned at the behest of the BJP. There was a general assessment that the Chief Minister and the ministers have failed in matters including Covid. Later Bhupendra Patel was made Chief Minister. Bhupendra Patel was not ready to include even one member of Vijay Rupani’s cabinet.
Anti-government sentiment and B.J. The Times of India predicts that the Congress will come to power if the civil unrest in P is also converted into a vote. There is grumbling among BJP leaders in the selection of candidates. Former Chief Minister Vijayaruparni and others were denied seats on the basis of the age criterion of 75, while 77-year-old Yogesh Patel was given a seat in Vadodara, which has angered a section of BJP leaders. Seven MLAs are contesting against the official candidates. BJP has expelled them from the party. The seat given to CK Raul G, who took the initiative to release the accused in the Balkis Banu murder case, has been controversial. He described the accused as cultured Brahmins. BJP’s giving seats to MLAs who defected from the Congress has also led to protests among BJP leaders.
The Election Commission did not announce elections in Gujarat along with Himachal Pradesh to overcome anti-incumbency sentiments and internal unrest within the party. The code of conduct will come into force once the election is announced. During this time, BJP leaders including the Prime Minister made many promises to the people and initiated many projects. The Prime Minister is coming directly to campaign in 33 districts. Apart from the Prime Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP Chief Ministers are active in the election campaign. Bhupendra Patel is BJP’s chief ministerial candidate. He is seeking constituency from Ghat Lodia constituency.
Congress has announced all its candidates and is active in the election campaign with increased confidence. Rahul Gandhi announced a break in the Jodo Yatra and started the election campaign in Surat and Rajugat. Priyanka Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharga will be in Godha for Gujarat elections in the coming days. Congress’s main electoral weapon is the 27-year defeat of BJP rule.
Unlike the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress has not announced its chief ministerial candidate. The Aam Aadmi Party is also active in the electoral arena by promoting extreme Hindutva and soft Hindutva to split the secular votes.
Journalist Isudagad V is the Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate. He is contesting from Dwarka constituency. Aam Aadmi’s main focus is on Saurashtra region. There are 54 assembly seats in this region. The Saurashtra region is a very important region for the Patel community. Last time Congress got 30 seats in this region. Hardik Patel was with Congress then. Arvind Kejriwal and the Chief Minister of Punjab are the star campaigners of Aam Aadmi. The Aam Aadmi Party will win a few seats, but the main contest is between the Congress and the BJP. 39 political parties including BSP and Uwaiza’s Majlis Party are in the fray. Elections will be held on December 1 and 5. Counting of votes is on December 8. Last time in the total of 182 seats B. JP got 99 seats. Congress got 77 seats and others four seats.