By Rajeev Khanna, IANS
Anand : As the Charotar belt in central Gujarat, home to a large number of NRIs and known for agriculture and dairies, votes Sunday, the Congress is trying hard to regain the ground it lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) five years ago.
Lack of any emotive issue and an apparent failure of Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s development plank are making it difficult for the BJP to repeat its performance : in the December 2002 poll, it had won 15 of the 17 assembly seats from this region, wresting away the Congress’ traditional stronghold.
The 2002 poll, however, was fought amid sharp communal polarisation in the aftermath of the train-burning tragedy at Godhra and the sectarian violence that ensued.
This region too had witnessed large-scale violence, particularly in villages around the towns of Anand, Nadiad, Mehmdabad and Kheda. Many Muslims who had fled their homes in the rural pockets are now living in resettlement colonies located on the outskirts of Anand, about 70 km from Ahmedabad.
The BJP is banking on what it sees as Modi’s charisma. Moreover, a large number of families in Charotar, particularly in Nadiad and Anand, have at least one relative abroad, mostly in the US, and the party hoes that its support base among the Gujarati diaspora would fetch it votes in this region.
Before 2002, this primarily rural belt – famous for the successful cooperative movement in the dairy sector reflected in brands like Amul – had supported the Congress. The party could be on a comeback trail as it did well here in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
“There has been no development since the BJP came to power in the state. There is an industrial zone but there are no industries. Modi talks of foreign investments in the state and industrial development but none of those is visible here. Whatever infrastructure you see was developed by the Congress before it lost power,” Congress leader Rajendrasinh Vaghela told IANS in Mahtar.
Manubhai Patel from an adjoining village added: “As a farmer my only grudge is that the government has failed to deliver regular power supply it had promised. The supply is erratic and not dependable.”
However, BJP workers counter these allegations. “The power situation has improved over the years and the farmers are getting power for 10 to 12 hours for irrigation,” said Jaimin Patel of BJP.
The BJP also claims that the safety and security situation in the area has improved during the Modi rule. When asked about the communal clashes in the region in 2002, Jaimin Patel said: “The Godhra (incident) was in 2002. There has been no violence after that.”
But the BJP would be worried about the caste equations here. Kshatriyas, an Other Backward Class (OBC) caste, make up for as many as 50 percent of the voters followed by Patels – most of whom are from the Leuva community to which former chief minister Keshubhai Patel of the BJP belongs.
Keshubhai Patel’s unhappiness with the party was reflected in the thinly veiled criticism of Modi for his “autocratic” ways. He refrained from casting his vote in the first phase Tuesday and appeals issued by his outfit to voters to vote for “change” can cost the BJP heavily here.
Two ministers from Modi’s cabinet, C.D. Patel from Petlad and Dilip Patel from Anand, have been denied the BJP ticket.
Dinsha Patel, a central minister who is contesting the Maninagar seat from Ahmedabad against Modi, represents Kheda in the Lok Sabha, while Anand is represented by Bharatsingh Solanki, the state Congress president and one of the possible chief ministerial candidates in case the party wins.
The voter turnout will be an important factor in deciding the outcome though people here seem to be little interested in the election despite the shrill campaign.
A Muslim vendor in Anand commented: “Who cares who comes to power? For me life will revolve around selling coconut milk and trying to make ends meet.”