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STATES:
GUJARAT
The
Rage of Friends
The BJP
is routed in the civic polls in the state as hardliners avenge the party's
abandoning of the Hindutva plank
By
Uday Mahurkar
When
an editor of a leading English newspaper met a senior leader of the Gujarat
BJP in Ahmedabad last month, he was taken aback by the politician's arrogance.
"We don't go after press publicity. We are so firmly ensconced in
Gujarat that we don't need it," the leader boasted even as the editor
pointed to the wisdom of keeping in touch with the media. Within a week,
the world had turned upside down for the BJP as the results of the panchayat
and civic elections in the state came in. The belief that Gujarat was
a saffron stronghold was demolished.
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| Juiliant
Congress leaders celebrate the windfall |
The party
lost in 22 of the 23 district panchayats and in three of the six municipal
corporations, including in Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel's native Rajkot
where it has consistently won since 1970. In a span of a few days the
BJP's control over the civic bodies in the state came down from 90 per
cent to less than 15 per cent.
The BJP's
defeat is rooted in its decision to jettison Hindutva to suit coalition
politics at the Centre. The strategy has cost the party dear in the state.
Sangh Parivar affiliates like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which has
a membership of almost two lakh in the state, felt betrayed by this volte
face and kept away from the election campaign. Says VHP General Secretary
Pravin Togadia: "The BJP was bound to pay the price for abandoning
Hindutva."
Widening
the chasm between the hardliners and the BJP was party President Bangaru
Laxman's recent overtures to the Muslims. Increasing Gujarat's quota of
Haj pilgrims and building a rest house at the Hajipir Dargah in Kutch
at government expense further alienated the pro-Hindutva elements, so
much so that many of them even voted against the party in the elections.
As it turned out, playing the Muslim card did not work for the BJP. Although
the party expected a good number of Muslim votes in these elections, the
community seems to have voted entirely for the Congress party. As a senior
BJP leader explained, "The voters have punished the party for replacing
Hindutva with Muslim appeasement."
Double-Edged
Sword: If it was a vote against non-Hindutva, it was in equal measure
a vote against high-level corruption in the state. Finance Minister Vajubhai
Vala, for instance, is facing charges of misusing his position to acquire
huge properties in the city. Many now see him as the biggest real-estate
tycoon in Gujarat. But Vala dismisses the accusations that he has bent
rules to further his business. "How can I prevent these charges?
My family has been in the real-estate business and will remain in it,"
he says without a hint of remorse.
Another reason for the party's debacle was the absence of Keshubhai's
political foe and national BJP General Secretary Narendra Modi. One of
the chief architects of the BJP's rise in Gujarat, Modi was banished from
the state five years ago after Shankersinh Vaghela's famous rebellion.
Modi's expertise in electoral politics and his organisational skills would
have played a crucial role in reversing the situation. Says a party leader:
"He would have identified the hostile signals from voters much in
advance and taken corrective steps. The party wouldn't have been caught
napping."
The panchayat
and municipal results, however, are not a vote for the Congress as much
as they are a vote against the BJP's mistakes. And nobody realises this
better than Gujarat PCC President C.D. Patel. At a function organised
to celebrate the unexpected victory, Patel handed out a caveat to party
workers. "This victory has been given to us on a platter. So none
amongst us should celebrate it with crackers. Instead we must strive to
justify the faith people have reposed in us," he said.
Meanwhile,
the chief minister has already set up a high-level committee for a post-mortem
on the BJP's poll reversals. But few expect it to come up with any earth-shaking
findings. That's because the committee is headed by Minister of State
for Technical Education Bharat Barot, a Keshubhai loyalist and sworn rival
of Modi. It seems the BJP is still not willing to learn from its mistakes.
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