By Mohd. Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net
TCN Special Gujarat 2012 elections:
Ahmadabad: “Ab bhi bhajapa hi aana hai saab, Narendarbhai Modi hi jitega,” that was the overzealous response of Govind Ram an Auto Rickshaw driver, who picks up rides at Ahmedabad International Airport, on the first typical question during elections “Aap kis ko vote dalenge?”. What Govind makes out of Narender Modi’s tenure was only ‘vikas’, but he had to think hard when asked what ‘parivartan’ that ‘vikas’ has brought to his life, after deep thinking he said ‘good roads near the airport’.
For another Autorickshaw driver name Aziz sheikh who does business in Kalupura area in old Ahmedabad, elections doesn’t mean anything, as he believes that much propagated ‘vikas’ won’t touch the locality he stays. Aziz said he doesn’t want development but security, so he doesn’t have to live back the horrific days of 2002 which forced him to shift his home.
Congress and BJP billboards in Ahmadabad. [TCN Photo]
Gujaratis are energized for political battles, in Ahmedabad streets are decorated with banners and flags of different political outfits and their candidates busy in canvassing for votes in the narrow lanes of thickly populated ‘bastis’.
While chief minister Narendra Modi is eager to do a hat-trick of win in the State Assembly, Congress seems to be gaining ground especially in the urban pockets, and BJP rebel Keshubhai Patel’s Gujarat Parivartan Party is cutting BJP vote base in rural Gujarat.
Although the Congress gains from Keshubhai’s rebellion but it suffers from its own internal factionalism. Unlike other political parties Congress doesn’t have a charismatic face for the voters.
Danish Qureshi a social and political activist is campaigning for Congress since last few months, he has toured 182 Assembly constituencies in Gujarat and campaigned for his party especially to target Muslim voters and to expose as he puts it, ‘fake Sadbhavana of Narendera Modi’.
Mr. Qureshi said that in his tour he has observed that Muslims are leaning towards Congress even after BJP’s propaganda of Gujarati Muslims aligning towards BJP, he also added that BJP’s move to outcaste Muslims in giving election tickets has further alienated Muslims from BJP.
Congress has given only seven tickets to the Muslim community, out of those seven, two constituencies is seeing fight between Congress Muslim rebel sitting MLAs and Muslim party ticket holders. Many Muslims on the streets feel upset with the Congress move, as they feel at least 14 tickets should have been provided to the community, keeping up with their population percentage in the state. Following BJP, the new born rebel political party Gujarat Parivartan Party of Keshubhai Patel has also not given any ticket to Muslims.
In 1984 Muslims were at height of their political power in Gujarat by winning 15 Assembly and 3 Lok Sabha seats. In 2007 elections only five Muslim MLAs, all on Congress tickets, were elected.
Mr. Qureshi alleged that Gujarat Chief Minister has created such hatred in the minds of majority community regarding minorities, now no party will like to see siding or even aligning with minorities.
Speaking on much hyped debate on Gujarati Muslims’ development Congress activist Danish Qureshi said Gujarati Muslims development is not a dramatic change, it happened on the on a natural cycle and Mr. Modi has nothing to do with it.
Qureshi even said that he is confident that Congress is not only going to give a tough fight, but also going to return to power in Gandhinagar, the state capital.