 "Gujarat Assembly polls: BJP, Cong, and AAP are locked in a fierce contest")
The BJP, the Congress, and the AAP are locked in a fierce contest for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly, to which elections are due on December 1 and 5.
Bharatiya Janata Party
Seats held at the end of 2017-22 term of the Assembly: 109
Central political issues
Although no one in the party will admit it publicly, the capacity of candidates to win has become the prime consideration in giving them the nomination. As many new entrants from other parties have been given preference over existing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers — some who have been in the party for decades — this has given rise to widespread rebellion, with many older BJP workers announcing their candidature as independents after being denied the ticket. As many as 11 ministers have not got the ticket and at least five top BJP leaders — including Nitin Patel and former CM Vijay Rupani — have announced they will not contest. Managing rebels is becoming the biggest challenge. Acknowledging that disgruntled BJP candidates have filed their nominations, state BJP chief Chandrakant Paatil has warned “adequate action” against them if they don’t withdraw within a given time. He said at least three candidates had filed their papers even after the party’s objection.
Promises made
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The BJP has announced an “Agresar Gujarat” campaign to draw suggestions from voters that will form the inputs for the manifesto. The manifesto will likely be made public later this month.
As part of this campaign, suggestion boxes will be kept in all public places. People can also post their suggestions online or record their opinion via a phone call to a designated number. The party had drafted its 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto after experimenting with this
system for the first time.
Strategies employed
In caste terms, the vote of the Patidars, the politically most influential middle caste, is crucial. A number of Patidar leaders who have crossed over from the Congress, like Hardik Patel, are campaigning intensively. Senior leaders such as Mansukh Mandaviya, Harsh Sanghvi, Vijay Rupani, and Parshottam Rupala are visiting discontented leaders — those who have been denied the ticket and are on the verge of becoming rebels — to bring them around.
Congress
Strength after the 2017 election: 77
Having been out of power for 27 years, the Congress has plenty of fodder against the BJP’s incumbency: Ranging from the government’s record in handling the pandemic, which caused many deaths, to issues of corruption and cronyism. However, being out of power has taken a toll: Party funds are small, many towering leaders have crossed the floor, and, unlike many other states, in Gujarat sympathy for the underdog as a political slogan is low. But Hemang Raval, Gujarat Congress office-bearer, says: “We’ve been out of government in Gujarat for close 27 years. Hence, it was important to tell the young and new voters about the work done by previous Congress governments, assuming they would not be aware of it.”
Promises made
The Congress was the first to announce a manifesto. It has made 11 key promises, including one million jobs in government and semi-government departments, implementing the old pension scheme, free health cover of up to Rs 10 lakh, LPG cylinder at Rs 500, and farm loan waiver of up to Rs 3 lakh.
The Congress also promised 300 units of free electricity every month, unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month, Rs 2,000 pension per month to divyangs (differently abled), widows, senior citizens, and single women. “As suggested by party leader Rahul Gandhi, we will form a commission for the implementation of our manifesto and turn it into a government document after the Congress forms the government in the state,” Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who released the manifesto, told Business Standard.
Strategies employed
The Congress firmed up its strategy in February 2022, when Rahul Gandhi addressed the party’s state-level Chintan Shivir in Dwarka, Gujarat. The party is running a campaign around local issues, the performance of the local MLAs, and door-to-door campaigning, though mega public meetings will likely be addressed closer to the elections. In caste and religious appeal, the party is not directly reaching out to the Muslims, but has fielded many Muslim candidates as distinct from the BJP, which has none. However, the party has resolved internally not to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly.
Aam Aadmi Party
Seats held in the 2017-22 Assembly: Zero
Central political issues
The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) campaign in Gujarat is no different from that elsewhere in India: That the Congress and the BJP are mirror images of each other and only the AAP has the courage to raise real issues. The party’s chief ministerial candidate, Isudan Gadhvi, says: “Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, without increasing any taxes on the people of the city, has been able to prove that one can have a quality life without paying expensive taxes. I believe in the Delhi model.”
Promises made
A monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 to all women above 18, free electricity up to 300 units to each family, Rs 3,000 per month to each unemployed youth, farm loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh, and day-time electricity for irrigation to cultivators are among the “guarantees” promised by the AAP. “If the AAP comes to power in Gujarat, all the cases related to movements like the Kisan movement, Patidar movement, Dalit movement and other movements will be withdrawn,” said Kejriwal while campaigning. He has also promised to restore the old pension scheme in Gujarat.
Strategies employed
The AAP’s problem in Gujarat is: It has to prove it is neither like the BJP nor like the Congress. In trying to catch the imagination of the people, it launched a completely new face as its face for chief minister: A former journalist. Its outreach strategy has two parts —reaching out to the people to establish what it stands for via its Parivartan Yatras or mass contact; and popularising programmes like free education and free health care launched in Delhi and Punjab, to tell voters what they should expect if they vote the AAP.