Ahmedabad: ‘Rural’ is the buzzword among Congress workers toiling to improve the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat. By focusing on the state’s 15 rural constituencies, the Congress is trying to replicate the improvements it showed in the 2017 assembly elections.
Gujarat has long been a BJP bastion – the party has ruled the state without interruption since 1998. In fact, in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Narendra Modi’s home state had delivered all 26 seats to the BJP’s kitty.
But in the 2017 assembly polls, the Congress had won all seven segments that make up the largely-rural Junagadh Lok Sabha seat, while in Amreli, it had won five out of seven. Contrast this with the urban Gandhinagar seat, where the Congress won just two – Gandhinagar North and Kalol.
Rahul Gandhi’s rallies
To avoid a repeat of the 2014 whitewash, the Congress has been raising issues like farmers’ distress, unemployment and corruption in the rural seats. Its president Rahul Gandhi has also focused chiefly on rural seats, addressing rallies in Bhavnagar, Tapi, Junagadh, Bardoli, Valsad and Amreli, among others.
A senior Congress leader told ThePrint: “The locations for the rallies were selected in such a manner that all sections of society could be covered, though we have included more rural constituencies as the issues of farmers’ distress, crop insurance and dairy farmers are at their peak and are being ignored by the BJP.
“Our Nyay scheme is meant to cater to such people so, strategically, it was decided to cover more rural constituencies.”
Apart from the party chief, former cricketer and Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has also canvassed for the Congress in rural areas.
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‘Change in people’s perception’
Another senior Congress leader said there was definitely a change in the people’s perception of the party since 2014. “Earlier, even when we used to go for door-to-door campaigning, they were not willing to listen to the alternative. But now they do give us a chance. We are hoping that we will do well not only in rural areas but urban too,” this leader said.
Hardik Patel, the young leader of the Patidar community who has been campaigning for the Congress, said the biggest local issue in the state was the plight of farmers.
“I have been conducting at least four rallies or roadshows in a day in every Lok Sabha seat. We conduct the programme in whichever village is the largest. Farmers and the youth are really in pain, and the Congress is the only party raising their voice,” Patel told ThePrint.
“The difference in the vote-share of BJP and Congress is not too big, and we will emerge victorious.”
Middle class & traders remain with BJP
Meanwhile, the middle class and the trading community of the state, though dissatisfied with the state government, are willing to give the BJP a chance once again.
“As per our survey, we are doing very well in urban constituencies. As far as rural areas are concerned, the issue of drought and farmers’ crop insurance scheme is also being addressed by the state government,” said a senior BJP leader.
PM Modi remains the focus of the party’s publicity campaign, and has also held several rallies on home turf.
The state votes in the third phase on 23 April.
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The Assembly election shaped up into a real contest. The Congress party’s Vikas Gando thhay chhe was resonating with voters. Had the entire city of Surat flipped, the ruling party could have lost. After such a close shave, the first order of business should have been to replace Mr Vijay Rupani, give the state a CM with both political and governance gravitas.