Patidars, Thakor Sena and Dalits throng Rahul Gandhi’s election meetings in Vadnagar and Vijapur in Mehsana district.
From ‘Jai Sardar’ to ‘Jai Bhavani’ to ‘Jai Bheem’, Congress president-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi is trying all slogans to woo voters from across communities in Gujarat.
Rahul reached Vadnagar, Modi’s home town, Saturday. It is a 40 km drive from Mehsana city. A small tehsil town in north Gujarat, Vadnagar has been referred to as “Bada Pradhan Ka Nagar” since Modi became PM.
This was the first time a national leader of the Congress came to Vadnagar to campaign. “The Congress never used to organise meetings here,” said Shabbeer Hasan, who runs a PVC pipe business. “Even if they would call a meeting, only a handful of people would attend.”
Vadnagar comes under the Unjha assembly constituency and has been a BJP bastion since 1998. Narainbhai Patel (74), a five-time BJP MLA, is in the fray again.
Narainbhai is the oldest candidate the BJP has fielded in this election while Asha Patel, a doctor and social worker, is contesting on the Congress ticket.
It was 2 pm Saturday and the crowd at the school ground had swelled to a few thousand.
“We didn’t expect such a huge turnout. So we had asked for only 3,000 chairs at the ground,” said a local Congress leader traveling with Rahul Gandhi. “At least all the chairs should be occupied; otherwise the media will say there was no crowd at Rahul’s rally.”
By 4 pm, there was a 10,000-strong crowd at the venue and by 5.30 pm, people started cheering after they heard the siren of vehicles. Moments later, Rahul was seen on the stage and a local leader took the microphone, shouting “Congress”. The crowd returned, “Aave Che’’ (Congress is coming).
Rahul waved at the supporters in his typical style and paid special attention to the galleries where women and youth were sitting. Before Rahul, state Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki had addressed the crowd.
“The BJP has objected to Rahul-ji going to temples. He is going to get blessings for the people of Gujarat. What’s wrong in that,” he asked.
The first thing Rahul said after taking the microphone was ‘Congress’ and the crowd responded by saying ‘Aave Che’.
“Modi-ji doesn’t talk about ‘vikas’ anymore. Now, he talks about himself after giving all your money to five or ten industrialist friends,” Rahul said.
The loudest cheer came from the supporters when he mentioned GST as ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’.
Then he talked about Congress’ promise of waiving of farmers’ loan. “We prepared a manifesto after discussing with you. Once we come to power here, the process to waive your loan would start.” A huge round of applause comes from the crowd.
After finishing the meeting, Rahul got ready to board a bus for another 40-km journey to Vijapur.
Unjha is one of the seats in Mehsana district where BJP is facing strong anti-incumbency.
Septuagenarian Chandrakant Bhai Patel had come from nearby Varvada village to listen to Rahul’s speech. “I have always voted for the BJP. But they now take us for granted. One person from my village was killed in the Patidar agitation. We are not with the BJP anymore,” he said.
“It’s a close contest and whoever wins, the margin will be very thin,” said Ramoji Thakor of Kahipur village.
Vijapur is another constituency which will also witness a tough fight between BJP and Congress. Both Unjha and Vijapur will go to the polls in the second phase on 14 December.
“The fact that the PM comes from our place is something that makes us very proud,” said Viraj Shah, a 23-year-old commerce student.
“Rahul Gandhi has come all the way from Delhi only because this is the PM’s area. Modi-ji only thinks about our nation and he is an honest person,” he added.
On the way to Vijapur, there were people standing on both sides of the roads. Rahul occasionally greeted them and sometimes stopped the bus to accept garlands.
It was 7 pm when Rahul reached Vijapur, a Congress stronghold. He was greeted with thousands of cellphone lights from the crowd, mostly comprising youth and women amid loud cheers of ‘Congress Ave Che’.
Rahul was informed by the local leader about people from Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), Thakor Sena (an organisation run by Alpesh Thakor) and Dalit community sitting in the crowd.
Accordingly, Rahul uttered ‘Jai Sardar’, ‘Jai Bhavani’ and ‘Jai Bheem’ to strike a chord with all the three communities. There were huge cheers from the crowd.
The rest of his speech remained the same. Rahul’s next destination was Kheda.
“He is working hard but is not as good as Modi,” said 60-year-old Karsanbhai Patel after listening to Rahul’s speech. “I haven’t decided whom to vote yet. I don’t know whether he will come again to this place in my lifetime,” he added.
Ghanshyam Shah, a political analyst based in Ahmedabad, said Rahul’s campaign is better managed than the BJP’s this time.
“Though I have my reservations about him, Rahul Gandhi’s campaign is better managed than BJP. I am not sure whether it can make Congress come to power but he has become a leader in the true sense,” Shah said.