Confident BJP may not escape anti-incumbency wrath against candidates in North Gujarat
AHMEDABAD: An interesting facet of these assembly elections in Gujarat is that there exists the factor of anti- incumbency against the BJP government but then it is more against individual candidates than the party as such. This is especially visible in north Gujarat, which has been a BJP bastion since 1995 and also happens to be the home turf of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
It was the fear of anti-incumbency alone that had forced powerful revenue minister Anandiben Patel to jettison Patan constituency in north Gujarat for a safe seat in Ahmedabad's Ghatlodia. That this would create a political vaccum in the district as the decision comes at the eleventh hour, was nobody's concern.
If former chief minister Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party's impact is visible anywhere other than Saurashtra, then it is in north Gujarat. Several senior leaders of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh and other Sangh Parivar outfits whom Modi had rubbed the wrong way, are also working whole heartedly to cause maximum damage to the ruling BJP here.
Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry is a well-known name in the tribal belt of Sabarkantha. In Dalit- dominated areas in the district, the unhappiness with the BJP government over the incident of police firing in Thangadh is quite palpable.
Dalits and Muslims constitute over 30 per cent of the electorate in most of the constituency in north Gujarat. Besides, Bhavsinh has left BJP to rejoin Congress, which will strengthen the Thakore votebank for the latter in at least 16 constituencies in the region.
Small farmers are unhappy with the state government over the issue of electricity and many are still waiting to get power connection. The state government had started to accept applications for power connection only this year in view of the assembly elections. However, power supply quality is not good, a farmer in Banaskantha district said, criticizing the prevailing billing policy and high tariff.
Delimitation has changed the contours of certain constituencies in Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Sabarkantha and Banaskantha in north Gujarat where out of total 32 seats, the BJP had won 23 in 1995, 23 in 1998, 18 in 2002 and 25 in 2007. In the last elections, BJP won all the seven seats in Mehsana. In Patan BJP won four and Congress two. In Banaskantha, BJP won seven and Congress one and in Sabarkantha, BJP bagged five and Congress three. BJP captured the Danta seat in the byelection held in 2009.
However, the BJP is expected to suffer major loss and Congress would gain in this region in these assembly elections. The Brand Modi is strong in the region but the BJP is not protected against the growing shadow of anti- incumbency, general dissatisfaction over candidate selection and the issues of unemployment and water crisis, a BJP worker said.
It was the fear of anti-incumbency alone that had forced powerful revenue minister Anandiben Patel to jettison Patan constituency in north Gujarat for a safe seat in Ahmedabad's Ghatlodia. That this would create a political vaccum in the district as the decision comes at the eleventh hour, was nobody's concern.
If former chief minister Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party's impact is visible anywhere other than Saurashtra, then it is in north Gujarat. Several senior leaders of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh and other Sangh Parivar outfits whom Modi had rubbed the wrong way, are also working whole heartedly to cause maximum damage to the ruling BJP here.
Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry is a well-known name in the tribal belt of Sabarkantha. In Dalit- dominated areas in the district, the unhappiness with the BJP government over the incident of police firing in Thangadh is quite palpable.
Dalits and Muslims constitute over 30 per cent of the electorate in most of the constituency in north Gujarat. Besides, Bhavsinh has left BJP to rejoin Congress, which will strengthen the Thakore votebank for the latter in at least 16 constituencies in the region.
Small farmers are unhappy with the state government over the issue of electricity and many are still waiting to get power connection. The state government had started to accept applications for power connection only this year in view of the assembly elections. However, power supply quality is not good, a farmer in Banaskantha district said, criticizing the prevailing billing policy and high tariff.
Delimitation has changed the contours of certain constituencies in Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Sabarkantha and Banaskantha in north Gujarat where out of total 32 seats, the BJP had won 23 in 1995, 23 in 1998, 18 in 2002 and 25 in 2007. In the last elections, BJP won all the seven seats in Mehsana. In Patan BJP won four and Congress two. In Banaskantha, BJP won seven and Congress one and in Sabarkantha, BJP bagged five and Congress three. BJP captured the Danta seat in the byelection held in 2009.
However, the BJP is expected to suffer major loss and Congress would gain in this region in these assembly elections. The Brand Modi is strong in the region but the BJP is not protected against the growing shadow of anti- incumbency, general dissatisfaction over candidate selection and the issues of unemployment and water crisis, a BJP worker said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment