ELECTIONS IN GUJARAT have traditionally been direct fights between the BJP and the Congress. However, the 2022 assembly polls, expected to be held in November-December, are set to be different after the Aam Aadmi Party announced that it will contest all 182 seats.
The ruling BJP is attempting to win an absolute majority for the seventh consecutive time. It is also aiming to win 150 seats to beat the record 149 seats that the Congress got under the leadership of former chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki in 1985.
In 2017, the Congress won a respectable 77 seats. But that has fallen to 65 after 12 MLAs deserted it. As things stand, the Congress is leaderless and clueless in Gujarat and has nothing to lose; even an improvement of one seat in its tally would be a face-saver for the party.
It seems to be pinning its hopes on the possibility of Naresh Ravjibhai Patel, an influential Patidar leader from Saurashtra, joining it. Patel, a Leuva Patidar, heads the Shree Khodaldham Trust that manages the temple of Khodal Mata, the main deity of his subcaste. Around two months ago, he announced his inclination to join politics. Ever since, there has been speculation about him joining the Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party. The importance of Patel, 56, can be gauged from the fact that no political party has said anything negative of him.
Gujarat BJP president C.R. Paatil had expressed hope that Patel, an ardent devotee of Shiva, would join the BJP. Hitesh Patel, member, BJP media cell, Gujarat, said that any person who accepts the party’s ideology and the local and central leadership is most welcome. The Congress’s Sukhram Rathva, the leader of the opposition in the assembly, has said that any party that Patel joins would win the election.
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin April 24, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin April 24, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
