Gandhinagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fending off “massive anti-incumbency” in Gujarat but no challenger is able to translate that sentiment into votes, former chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela has said.
He believes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s back-to-back public meetings are an acknowledgement of the anti-incumbency that has built up against the BJP over its 27 years in power in Gujarat.
In an interview with ThePrint, Vaghela — one of the few who attempted, though unsuccessfully, the formation of a Third Front despite Gujarat’s bipolar politics — spoke about the BJP’s poll prospects, the Congress’s lukewarm campaign, and why he believes voters are not ready to trust the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) just yet.
Vaghela, who led a rebellion of over 40 BJP MLAs in October 1996, served as chief minister for one year and four days — buoyed by the Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) he formed along with fellow rebels, including Dilip Parekh. He later served as Union minister during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule before joining the National Congress Party (NCP) in 2019 only to part ways with Sharad Pawar a year later.
Sitting in his plush home on the outskirts of Gandhinagar, Vaghela compares the Congress to a student who starts preparing just before the exam. “Congress has lost the human touch, which is why Rahul Gandhi is on his Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
But Congress is not the bigger problem, says Vaghela. According to him, it is the Modi “style of politics”, where the only objective is to finish political opponents by hook or by crook. “He (Modi) hits below the belt to destroy his opponents, that is the bigger crisis looming large.”
According to Vaghela, the BJP’s biggest strength is that opposition parties are not ready to mount a credible challenge.
“It is not as if the BJP is giving Ram Rajya. If it would have done great work in the past 25 years, there was no need to go out in each mohalla (area) and corner seeking votes. This means that they haven’t done what they promised in all of their 27 years in power in the state… Opposition in Gujarat is weak, that is why the BJP appears strong.”
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‘Today’s BJP full of mediocre people’
Accusing the BJP brass in Delhi of breaking an unsaid rule in politics (i.e., not hitting an opponent below the belt), Vaghela says, “The BJP today is full of mediocre people.”
“Why are you (BJP) purchasing Congress MLAs? Rahul (Gandhi) is beyond dirty politics. Having seen this since a very young age, he got disenchanted with politics. Politics should be exercised on morale and principles.”
Sharing his assessment of why the BJP is not in power in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana or Tamil Nadu, Vaghela tells ThePrint: “Anti-BJP sentiment is building across the country today, but no party (in BJP-ruled states) is able to translate that sentiment into votes.”
“BJP leaders think voters everywhere in India love them. Why are you doing dirty politics if that is the case? The people in this country are dissatisfied. The Prime Minister has devalued his office, and conspiracies are being carried out through the home minister (Amit Shah). This is not good for democracy. People don’t respect a PM who lies again and again.”
Asked about his rapport with Modi, Vaghela says he would prefer not to comment. “I have a relationship with Modi and that will remain, but politics should not be done to finish political opponents.”
“This BJP is full of third-grade people, murderers, rapists. They are indulging in the politics of terror and snooping. This is not for the benefit of the party, but for the benefit of individuals. Now, the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad), the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) are all involved in this loot.”
Recalling the time when Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani were at the helm of the BJP, the 82-year-old former chief minister says, “There was no politics of terror. You could go to him (Vajpayee) and share views. But today, there is no mard (male) in the BJP. The coterie surrounding Modi is working under terror. Use-and-throw politics is the BJP’s new grammar.”
Vaghela also spoke about how he believes the Sangh adds to the BJP’s strengths. “Those in the BJP with RSS background, work in unity. The BJP’s two hands turn into twelve when RSS workers enter the picture during polls. When twelve hands work in the same direction, you get the result you are hoping for.”
“The RSS says the country is more important than ideology, but they (Sangh and BJP) preach that ideology is more important than the country,” he adds.
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Congress ‘insincere’, Rahul’s ‘broken trust’
What is his take on the Congress’ campaign in Gujarat? Vaghela says the Congress, unlike a “sincere student”, initiated the process to select poll candidates at the “eleventh hour”.
“It is a system failure. They should have done homework before the polls. In such a situation, the party ignores sincere workers who don’t get a ticket. These frustrated workers then attack party offices.”
On Rahul Gandhi’s limited role in the Congress poll campaign in Gujarat, Vaghela says: “Rahul is very disappointed with Gujarat Congress leaders. What I sensed is his trust has been broken. He trusted many leaders in Gujarat, but they did not reciprocate that trust.”
“Whether it was me or another MLA who left midway, he (Rahul) thought that he did not want such MLAs willing to abandon the party. That is why he has lost esteem for Gujarat. Unka bharosa toot gaya hai (His trust is broken).”
However, Vaghela says he is “not convinced” by this line of reasoning.
“There is no such thing as loyalty or ideology in politics. Come election day, merit is more important than loyalty. I don’t want to delve deeper into the crisis starting at the Congress but loyalty trumps merit and, sometimes, to favour a loyal worker, parties overlook meritorious candidates. This should not happen. Parties should select candidates who are popular in their community and work for their cause.”
Vaghela’s son and former Bayad MLA Mahendrasinh left the BJP and joined the Congress earlier this month. He is set to contest from Bayad on a Congress ticket.
‘AAP pumping crores into Gujarat polls’
Talking about the AAP, the latest entrant in Gujarat, Vaghela says he believes Arvind Kejriwal’s party could succeed in Gujarat. “There is a vacuum in Gujarat politics. The BJP is facing massive anti-incumbency, but that has not led to a surge in the graphs of other parties, particularly the Congress.”
Questioning the source of AAP’s funds, Vaghela says the AAP is focused on “marketing” and infusing “hundreds of crores” into the election. “I don’t know how much money they are pumping in Gujarat… Rs 200 crore, Rs 300 crore… They should tell everyone where the money is coming from.”
But the larger point for the AAP, he adds, is the trust factor. “In politics, people trust experienced leaders. The AAP is facing that issue in Gujarat,” Vaghela says, referring to the Kejriwal-led party’s top rung in Gujarat which comprises almost entirely of new entrants.
“The Congress had Pranab Mukherjee who the people trusted; the BJP had Vajpayee. There is a lack of this trust in the AAP’s leadership. There is a saying — people love old whiskey, an old doctor and an experienced leader.”
On whether there is room for a Third Front in Gujarat, like the one he attempted in 1996 and what the AAP is now aiming for, Vaghela tells ThePrint: “It is not that Third Front politics can never be successful in Gujarat. Third Front parties are ruling half of India — whether it is Mamata in Bengal, Stalin in Tamil Nadu, KCR in Telangana, YSR in Andhra Pradesh, and the Nitish Kumar-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) combine in Bihar.”
Asked whether the AAP’s freebie politics will have any impact on the poll outcome, Vaghela says, “you need a lot of money to run a party”.
“Gujaratis are business-oriented. They don’t take anything without paying for it; by the way, nothing comes for free. No politician gives away his money to execute projects. All of the funds (used to implement government schemes) comes from the people’s pockets.”
Hinting at the AAP, he adds that “anybody making such promises wants to fool the people”.
Vaghela asserts that the Election Commission should keep a check on these poll promises. “It is doing time pass. They should make a rule that if you don’t fulfil poll promises within five years, your registration as a political party will be cancelled.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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