Gujarat: A nervous BJP targets Ahmed Patel

The Gujarat elections are turning significant. It has brought the Congress leadership qualities in Rahul Gandhi, and there is now a new willingness to take on Narendra Modi in his own citadel. This has helped Congress frame foundation for the Congress to fight the Hindutva outfit at the national level.

Nervousness is apparent in the BJP. Even Shiv Sena, a partner of ruling NDA, has grown doubtful about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s performance. These have led BJP into different genre of politics. The vendetta politics in BJP is largely guided by the nervousness in Gujarat electoral fray. The campaign by the Congress party under Mr Rahul Gandhi and something being planned and executed by the likes of Mr Ahmed Patel and Mr Ashok Gehlot has pushed the saffron party to the wall. So much is the fear of losing the grip in Gujarat – Mr Modi’s citadel – that the saffron party strategists are trying to embarrass someone like Mr Patel – with all unfounded charges for no reason. The political motive is behind the intent, without doubt. The charges came from chief minister at a late night press conference. This episode actually talks a lot of BJP’s electoral plans going haywire in Gujarat.

Unknowingly often you actually become an instrument of your demise. I am afraid the BJP leadership is walking on that route. The charges against Mr Patel about an alleged nexus with a terror element Qasim Stimberwala would fall flat anytime – anywhere in a court of law. Yet the noise! The noise definitely counts in election time and hence they feel, such an allegation against Mr Patel will help polarize the electorate in Gujarat. But their success in that direction would not come. Such an allegation only gives headlines for a while; and nothing more.

As per Mr Ahmed Patel is concerned, he has already won a spectacular victory in August humbling the towering leaders of BJP during elections for the Rajya Sabha. To him, the new challenges would only prove as opportunities. Each victory, as we often say, adds a little more inner strength, the crucial one.

Mr Patel has been always a man of few words. Hence, his tweets on the episode actually ventilate his views rather strongly.

“We request that matters of national security not be politicised keeping elections in mind,” tweeted Mr Patel.

His missive in the micro blogging site came close on the heels of Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani demanding resignation of Ahmed Patel from the Rajya Sabha over the controversy.

Mr Patel also followed it up with a letter to the Union home minister Rajnath Singh. This missive did a lot of plain speaking – calling spade a spade.

“Framing charges must be done by law enforcement agencies and the judiciary and not by political leaders in press conferences from party headquarters,” Ahmedbhai wrote in the context of a late night press conference where chief minister Vijay Rupani made vitriolic charges.  

Mr Ahmed Patel also pointed out: “Matters of national security cannot be a prisoner of politics and neither should be reduced to baselessly maligning political opponents for petty electoral gains.”

The Rajya Sabha MP from the state also accused the Gujarat government of doing politics saying, “... the ruling party in Gujarat (BJP) is vitiating a serious ongoing investigation just ahead of elections by making wild and unsubstantiated allegations”.

Those of us who have followed Mr Patel’s political graph know him for speaking in low voice – almost quietly even in the midst of most noisy political deliberations. Though uttered softly, Ahmedbhai’s words would carry surprising force, also empowered by a superior quality and sharp knowledge – especially on politics.

Therefore, the BJP nervousness and the guilt of trying to fix a man – whose patriotism cannot be question – cannot be concealed. In fact, the BJP may regret in future for stooping so low! Now on a different plane, how is Gujarat electoral fray actually shaping up?

Put on a defensive, the BJP is slowly but certainly trying to go back to its communalized agenda for the electoral battle. In interaction with top journalists in the capital during a Diwali milan party, BJP chief Amit Shah reportedly said, “When we are there, Hindutva is bound to come”. What a bravado gesture?

It is in effect an admission of fact. Well, for BJP’s think tank and political leadership – the term Hindutva or the “communalisation” of politics is actually considered as a point of strength. Sadly, it is not a tool of strength. It is a vice.

Communalism in politics is actually only a cancerous tumour and it should be kept at bay. But having reaped political dividends in the past few decades by abusing such emotive issues, the BJP is more than tempted to use it all over again. And, the country is not surprised although. In 2012 too, Mr Modi had played this card when he told an election rally that the Congress party has only ‘one Patel’ — Ahmed Patel. His emphasis was on a word called ‘Mia’ — to denote religious affinity of the Congress leader.

This is the sad state of affairs. But when election results come in — the BJP does not hesitate to speak from the roof top that it is due to “development mod-el” that they have won elections. They also love to call Mr Modi — a catalyst of change. Is that so?

Nothing can be further from truth. The real intention to corner Mr Patel is to seek religious polarisation among the electorate – and I must therefore say that the people of Gujarat would do well to read these intentions. The people of Gujarat actually have been paying a heavy price for not able to judge the political machinations of the BJP. In retrospect, one can point out that for the BJP – communalism has been a foremost political tool and you do not need any deep knowledge to understand that. The rhetoric of the so called master orators is good testimony to my claims.

In 2002 – on the backdrop of the unprecedented riots, BJP leaders used the phrase “Mia Musharraf” rather liberally. In 2007, the BJP brought into public debate the controversies pertaining to encounters and in 2012  as we said, there was an attack on “Ahmed Mia Patel”. All talks about developments is actually only a ‘smokes-screen’ and the devices to mislead and misguide the voters. The common faceless voters in Gujarat – the political backyard of Modi-Shah duo - should try to find out what the established players like Mr Shah are up to. And they must ponder, debate and discuss among themselves, should things be left just as it is. In the event – status quo is allowed to prevail – what happens to the people of Gujarat and their aspirations? What happens to the aspirations of jobless youths and disgruntled traders?

In fact, voters in Gujarat ought to be told effectively that if the Modi government (as chief minister) had not diverted funds in giving expensive concessions to industries — as giving land at low prices, then these resources could have only helped the poorer sections and improve social development indicators. My question, thus remains: Who gained? Who continue to suffer?

As debated often, a push for crony capitalism, as pursued under BJP, and especially under the leadership of Mr Modi, ensured easy availability of land and power supply for industries. But this also created a distorted situation. The sustainability of growth in Gujarat always remained questionable because the natural resource planning was not integrated with the growth process.

The writer is founder of the Prof. G.V. Sudhakar Rao Foundation and a former chairman of Andhra Pradesh Electronic Development Corporation