ORDER OF BATTLE

Kejriwal is taking up issues that affect Gujarat voters the most. The move is drawing considerable support, forcing the BJP to react

- NANDINI OZA

After being in power for nearly three decades—and with the active support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah—the Gujarat BJP should have been in a comfortable position as it prepares for the assembly elections to be held by the end of the year. That is not the case, however, this time around. The BJP, which is known to set the election agenda and force the opposition to react, appears to be on the defensive, thanks to an unusually aggressive Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party.

When Kejriwal promised 300 units of free electricity every month for the people of Gujarat, Modi came down heavily against freebies, calling it revdi culture, after a popular north Indian sweet. In fact, the Supreme Court is now hearing a public interest litigation against the practice of political parties offering freebies.

On social media, a war is under way. There is a campaign, believed to be supported by the BJP, which says that the public's money collected as tax should not be given away as freebies. The AAP said freebies are given to a select few and something that is beneficial for all could not be called a freebie. As the war of words has intensified, the AAP leadership is facing increasing scrutiny from Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. Despite the challenges, the AAP is pushing ahead with its aggressive campaign in Gujarat, a state where a party other than the BJP or the Congress has never succeeded in an electoral battle.