The BJP led by prime Minister Modi has steamrolled and totally annihilated the opposition in Gujarat beyond expectations. .
The Congress had thrown in the towel even before a single over had been bowled with the Gandhi’s skipping campaigning in the BJP bastion and Priyanka Gandhi focusing on only Himachal.
The Congress was supposed to be the main opposition party in Gujarat but in the 102 odd seats which had a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress the BJP is winning in 80% of the seats which tells the story of these elections.
The last elections saw the Congress putting up a brave fight and almost giving the BJP a scare with Sonia’s close confidante and henchman Ahmad Patel leading the campaign charge along with Rahul Gandhi. Ahmed Patel had a grassroot connect with the Congress worker and mobilized the cadres effectively. His efforts saw the Congress winning 77 seats.
But with his untimely demise and Rahul busy with his Bharat jodo – as his party is shredded in Gujarat- the Congress has got it all wrong. But nothing can be taken away from the BJP which put Congress and the much hyped AAP to the sword in Gujarat to keep its 27 year unbeatable record intact.
The Gujarat development model together with the total decimation of the patidaar movement made it a cakewalk for the BJP. The frequent changing of CM’s in Gujarat also helped the BJP to wade of any semblance of anti-incumbency that may have existed but looking at the trends and the results it would not have made any difference.
The party’s strike rate of over 80% is phenomenal by any standards and this is a personal victory for PM Modi and Amit Shah.
The Congress’ apathy towards the Gujarat elections was evident in the way Rahul Gandhi chose to skip Gujarat in his Bharat jodo yatra saying that it would have given a political twist to his yatra.
With the top leadership absent the party cadre was left to fend for itself and felt demoralised. The Congress party high command have let its party cadre down in Gujarat and had it seriously contested the elections it would not have put up with such an ignominious performance.
On the other hand the BJP high command left no stone unturned in ensuring the victory of its candidates and total decimation of the opposition.
Political battles are won and lost on political battlegrounds and chickening out of a contests doesn’t augur well for the oldest political party of the country or its top leadership.
