Undercurrent against BJP in Gujarat; results will be ‘zabardast’, says Rahul Gandhi
AHMEDABAD : Campaigning for the second phase of Gujarat elections 2017 ended today with both the BJP and Congress employing every tactic on the last day.
BJP’s star campaigner Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the last day of campaigning for Gujarat elections aboard a seaplane en route to Ambaji Temple, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed a press conference as chief of the oldest political party in India in Ahmedabad.
There is “tremendous undercurrent” against the BJP in Gujarat, Congress president- elect Rahul Gandhi claimed today, and predicted a victory for his party in the assembly elections.
“It is for the first time in an election that Modiji has not spoken about corruption…about farmers. There is (zabardast) tremendous undercurrent (against the BJP). Be it Patidars, OBCs, Dalits, farmers….all are angry. Public mood has undergone ‘zabardast’ change. “The Congress will win the election….the results will be ‘zabardast’,” a confident-looking Gandhi said.
Maninagar: Congress eyes key BJP bastion in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad’s Maninagar, a BJP bastion and constituency of Narendra Modi before he became PM, is set for an interesting contest between BJP’s sitting MLA Suresh Patel and Congress’s Shweta Brahmbhatt.
Campaigning for the second phase of Gujarat Election 2017 ends. Voting for the second phase is scheduled on 14 December. The second and final phase of elections will see 93 assembly seats spread across 14 districts in north and central Gujarat going to polls. The first phase of voting for the 182-member house, held on December 9, covered 89 seats. A total of 851 candidates are in the fray for the second phase, where 2.22 crore people are eligible to vote.
Congress’s president-elect Rahul Gandhi today hit out at PM Modi over alleged atrocities on Dalits in Gujarat, insisting the community feels insecure in the state despite several laws for their protection. Gandhi wanted to know who will take responsibility for the Una incident where young Dalit men were flogged for skinning a dead cow.
“Neither land, nor employment, no health and no education, Gujarat’s dalits received only insecurity. “Modiji is silent on Una’s tragic incident, but who will take the responsibility for it. A number of laws were made in the name of dalits, but who will execute them earnestly,” he said on Twitter.
PM Modi over not mentioning issues like corruption and farmers in his rallies in poll-bound Gujarat. Taking a jibe at PM Modi, Gandhi added that the Prime Minister had remained silent on allegations against BJP president Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah and the alleged irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal.
“PM Modi ji has not spoken a word about corruption. He is silent on Jay Shah and Rafale deal,” he said.The Congress leader also took on those who raised eyebrows over his visits to temples in Gujarat, wondering if it was wrong to pray for the well-being of people of the state.
Rahul defended himself saying, “Whenever I went to a temple I just prayed for a ‘sunehra bhavishya’ for the people of Gujarat, a better development here. Is it wrong to go to a temple?” The Congress leader also said he was confident that his party would win the elections in the state. “We are confident that Congress will win in Gujarat,” Gandhi said.
Remaining parts of Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, are slated to go for polls on December 14.The first phase of polling took place on December 9 and recorded a voter turnout of 68 percent. Counting of votes will take place on December 18.
The Congress is eyeing to dethrone the BJP government in the state.The last Congress government in Gujarat was led by Chhabildas Mehta from February 17, 1994, to March 13, 1995.
(With Agency Inputs ).
