New Delhi: Ahead of the Gujarat polls on May 7, campaigning by the rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) peaked in the state.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will seek votes for party nominees in Gujarat’s Rajkot, Ahmedabad, and Banaskantha seats on May 4 and counter the attacks of PM Modi who campaigned in the state May 1 and addressed rallies on Tuesday as well.
Gujarat has 26 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP candidate won the Surat seat unopposed recently but the Congress blamed the ruling party for using unfair means to manipulate the result. Polling for the remaining 25 seats will take place on May 7 and campaigning for the same will end on May 5.
“Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge will address two rallies in Rajkot and Ahmedabad on May 3. He will hold a press conference in Ahmedabad before the rally. Priyanka Gandhi will address a rally in Banaskantha on the same day,” AICC secretary in charge of Gujarat BM Sandeep Kumar told ETV Bharat.
BJP vs AAP
Traditionally, the Gujarat contest has been between the Congress and the BJP, which has been winning all the 26 Lok Sabha seats since the 2014 and 2019 national polls. However, in 2024, the Congress has an alliance with the AAP which is contesting two seats Bharuch and Bhavnagar.
PM Modi's Remarks
The BJP’s campaign is being led by PM Modi, a former chief minister of Gujarat, who said on Tuesday "Congress is dying here, Pakistan is crying there. Pakistan wants a weak government in India, like a government that was before 2014, a government under whom Mumbai terrorist attacks were possible."
The PM addressed rallies in Banaskantha and Sabarkantha areas on May 1. In Banaskantha, the PM blamed the Congress for spreading misinformation. “The party which ruled the country for 60 years has become a fake factory. What they called Mohabbat Ki Dukan is actually a fake factory. Congress' videos are fake, Congress' words are fake, Congress' promises are fake, Congress’ slogans are fake, Congress intentions are fake,” the PM said.
“The situation of the Congress, which ruled for 60 years, is very worrying. They are openly trying to divide the country. The only strategy of Congress and its INDI alliance is to spread lawlessness and instability in the country. They want to set the country on fire, no matter what, to defame Modi. They did the same during the biggest disaster in the country, the Corona pandemic. Their COVID mission failed, their vaccination mission failed, so they tried to set the country on fire. When we brought the CAA law, they tried to set the country on fire again,” the PM said in Sabarkantha.
Congress Hit Back
“The PM is leveling false charges on us. Our manifesto is committed to social justice for all and not only for a particular community. He is also trying to polarise the elections by bringing up issues like Pakistan. If they were so confident, why did they manipulate the Surat nominations,” said Sandeep Kumar.
The Congress further alleged rampant drug smuggling in the state and said lakhs of families had been affected by inaccurate land records in Gujarat which was suffering from widespread water shortage for a long time.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, now in jail in the liquor scam case, had launched the AAP campaign in Gujarat on March 16 from Vadodara but his wife Sunita Kejriwal was set to campaign in the western state on May 2 for the party candidates. The party workers are conducting door-to-door campaigns in the two seats being contested by the party and elsewhere.
The Rajkot seat, where Union Minister Parshottam Rupala is pitted against Congress candidate Paresh Dhanani, has become high profile due to the controversial remarks of the BJP leader which angered the Rajput community across Gujarat. On May 1, a mega Rajput community conclave held in Anand pledged its support to the Congress candidates. In Anand CLP leader Amit Chavda is pitted against BJP’s sitting MP Mitesh Patel. In Banaskantha seat Congress candidate Geniben Thakor is pitted against BJP’s Rekha Chaudhary in a close contest.
