Modi as mascot, BJP eyes 6th win in Gujarat

New Delhi: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its poll mascot, the BJP is confident of retaining power in Gujarat for the sixth consecutive time while the main Opposition Congress is trying hard to make the electoral battle challengeable for the ruling party.

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been aggressively campaigning in Gujarat but opinion polls suggest that other than minutely denting the Congress vote-bank and attracting anti-BJP anti-Congress votes, the outfit will not be able to make major inroads in the state where the BJP has been in power for more than two decades and the Congress has a dedicated vote-bank which has never plummeted below 30 per cent.

Though the Opposition in the state has been trying to highlight issues, including inflation, its efforts to rake up the Morbi disaster, which resulted in the death of 135 people including 47 children, as the state government’s failure, is unlikely to affect the ruling party’s prospects.

The ruling BJP continues to remain a formidable force in the state despite despite the Oppositions’ efforts to put the blame of the accident on the BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the accident site and meeting with the injured has “assuaged” the negative sentiments against the government, as per feedback with the BJP.

“It was a very unfortunate incident but to allege that the BJP was responsible is deplorable. Gujarat trusts Modi and the BJP. Gujaratis know what all the BJP and PM Modi has done for the state and the nation. Opposition can allege anything but Gujaratis know who has been doing the sewa of them and the nation,” said a senior BJP leader.

Though anti-incumbency is an issue for the BJP leadership to consider, Union home minister Amit Shah had reportedly told the state leaders that 25 per cent new faces will be fielded in the upcoming elections.

According to the BJP’s internal survey, it was learnt, the party is crossing 125 mark, of the total 182 Assembly seats. During the last Assembly polls in 2017, the BJP won 99 seats while the Congress won 77. The BJP bagged nearly 50 per cent of the votes, while the Congress, out of power for over two decades, got 41.44 per cent of the votes.

However, despite its performance during the last Assembly polls, the Congress is plagued with factionalism and a major  section of its leaders in the state are of the view that the central leadership should have shown “more seriousness” to the upcoming polls than the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ led by Rahul Gandhi. Some also feel that the Yatra should have covered more areas in the poll bound state to send a message to its voters and anti-BJP voters.