Congress sure of Gujarat, Rajasthan win

The Congress is confident of its revival in Gujarat and Rajasthan following the infighting in the ruling BJP in these states. Top leaders of the Gujarat Congress had a marathon meeting on Friday and Saturday in Ahmedabad to discuss the poll strategy against the backdrop of developments in the BJP. They are planning to announce at least 65 of the total 182 candidates in November-December this year, i.e. one year before the state Assembly elections.

According to the sources, Congress president’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, AICC general secretary in-charge of Gujarat Gurudas Kamat, PCC president Bharatsinh Solanki, CLP leader Shankarsinh Vaghela and others, interacted with the party leaders.

While the PCC’s coordination committee meeting held on Saturday lasted about four hours, the meeting of senior party leaders on Friday went on over eight hours, they said.

The Gujarat BJP will continue to remain a divided house after a change of guard in the government. Vijay Rupani, who will be the new chief minister and his deputy Nitin Patel cannot work together even if the BJP chief Amit Shah personally monitors the government and the organisation, they said.

According to them, BJP will finance smaller parties to put up candidates against Congress and thus ensure that a multi cornered contests would split the Congress votes.

“But this will not work because Congress has already emerged as an alternative to BJP which has been in power since 1998 without a break. Besides, BJP’s vote bank is split and the Hindutva appeal is fading,” they said.

After its revival in rural Gujarat, Congress leaders are focusing on urban parts of the state. These leaders discussed the ground situation with the party corporators in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Junagarh, Rajkot, Gandhinagar municipal corporations.

“We have identified about 65 Assembly seats that Congress has been losing in the last three elections. The party will shortlist candidates for these seats at least one year in advance and ask them to start the campaigning,” said a Congress leader who attended the meetings, adding that the party’s election campaign would begin from September-October.

The Sonia Gandhi led party will sharpen its attack on the BJP government on one hand and simultaneously strengthen its booth committees in each Assembly segment on the other.

Gujarat is going to be a big challenge for BJP because its vote bank is split after the all powerful Patel community hit the streets on the reservation issue, dalits have come out on the streets and minorities cannot be with BJP.

If BJP fails to form a government in Uttar Pradesh, it will have a bearing on the Gujarat polls to be held at the end of next year.