By Rajeev Khanna, IANS
Surat : In the industrial belt of south Gujarat, political parties are making all out efforts to woo the voters who have migrated from other states and regions of Gujarat.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have got their cadres from other states to camp in areas in and around Surat, Bharuch, Ankleswar and Vapi to woo the people who are voters in Gujarat but have migrated from other parts of the country over the years.
South Gujarat is among the regions going to the polls in the first phase of the state assembly elections due Tuesday.
Many people from Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra live in this industrial belt of Gujarat where they work as labourers. In addition, there are people from Saurashtra region, primarily from Amreli and Bhavnagar who are employed in the diamond industry of Surat.
Surat is where 95 percent of world’s diamonds are cut and polished.
A large presence of voters who have made the region their home explains why the chief ministers and other senior leaders of various states have come and campaigned in the area.
Political observers are of the opinion that this is the class that votes in very large numbers. They are the ones who need to be won over on the lines of regionalism and other relevant factors.
The labour force coming from other parts of the country is engaged in all sorts of industry including paints, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, power looms and textiles.
In the last week, chief ministers of Jharkhand, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat have held special community specific meetings asking the electorate to vote for the parties they belong to or have an alliance with.
It is in this region where even parties like Janata Dal-United have fielded candidates. The party otherwise has no standing in other parts of Gujarat.
Surat BJP President Pravin Naik said: “We have at least 150 cadres from Maharashtra alone in Surat who are working among Maharashtrians living in the city. We have promised the migrants a better life in the day.”
The Congress has also fielded senior leaders to woo the migrants.
“We are telling the migrants that we will make their lives more secure once the Congress comes to power. In addition, we are telling them how the central government has been taking initiatives for industrial development in the state,” says Surat Congress chief Sunilbhai Bhukawala.
He said the Congress was also trying to convey to the electorate that it was essential for proper co-ordination between the central and state governments and such a situation is ideal when the same party is in power at both levels.
The Congress is also trying to play up the failure of the state government in handling the situation in the 2006 floods that killed more than 100 people. Many of the victims were labourers and migrants.
The BJP is trying to counter the Congress campaign by saying how effectively the relief and rescue operations were carried out and how Chief Minister Narendra Modi had camped in Surat and supervised the cleanliness operations.