No third front, Gujarat contest between BJP and Congress: Gohil

Gujarat Congress leader Shakti Sinh Gohil on Wednesday denied any political space to Aam Aadmi Party for the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections, saying the contest would be limited between BJP and Congress, adding that 'there was no third front', writes Amit Agnihotri for ETV Bharat.

New Delhi: The Congress today played down the presence of AAP in Gujarat saying the coming assembly contest in the western state is between the ruling BJP and the grand old party. "There is no third front in Gujarat. The voters of the state know that the contest is only between the Congress and the BJP," Rajya Sabha member Shakti Sinh Gohil said when asked about the Aam Aadmi Party.

In Gujarat, which will have assembly polls this year, AAP had done well in the local body polls last year winning 31 seats in Taluka Panchayats, nine in municipalities and two district panchayat seats. Before that, AAP had registered its presence in Surat by winning 27 municipal corporation seats at the cost of the Congress, which failed to win any in that town. AAP founder and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had indicated that he was preparing his party for the 2022 Gujarat assembly elections and claimed that the contest would be between the BJP and AAP.

Excited over its recent win in Punjab, AAP has launched a membership drive in Gujarat and there are plans that Kejriwal along with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann will visit the state soon to boost the party’s prospects. In contrast, the Gujarat Congress, which has been out of power for long, has been busy dealing with turf wars over the past year. Yet, the grand old party has tried to put up a brave face by projecting itself as a champion of the tribals, who have influence in around 27 assembly seats.

A visible attempt to this end saw Gohil, alongside Congress Legislature Party leader in Gujarat Assembly Sukhram Rathwa, addressing a presser in Delhi on Wednesday, targetting the BJP over the Par-Narmada-Tapi river linking project. Saying the BJP government in the state has halted the project fearing loss of tribal votes in the upcoming elections, the duo questioned why it had not been permanently cancelled.

“It is a central project but the state BJP chief is announcing that it will be halted. Why halt it, why not cancel it if it is not in the interests of the Tribals? Why did you bring it in the first place,” Gohil asked. Rathwa, as well as Congress leader Anand Patel who had previously led protests against the project, claimed BJP developed cold feet after realizing anger among affected communities.