New Delhi: The Congress is bracing for the first test of its “silent” campaign in Gujarat and on Wednesday asked the party observers to focus on managing the booths in 89 out of 182 Assembly seats that will go to polling on December 1.
“We have asked the party observers to just focus on managing the booths and forget everything else,” AICC Secretary in charge of Gujarat BM Sandeep Kumar told ETV Bharat. He was referring to the set of AICC and state-level observers who have been deployed by the party for each assembly constituency in the western state.
These observers will manage the polling stations along with the booth-level teams that had been formed by the party over the past months to mobilize the voters. The 89 phase 1 seats fall mostly in the Saurashtra and South Gujarat region while the remaining 93 seats falling in the North and Central Gujarat will have polling on December 5.
“We adopted a new strategy this time. Booth-level teams were formed. A silent campaign meant that the focus was more on voter connect than big rallies. Over the past months, our workers have reached every home in the state,” senior state unit leader Siddhartha Patel said.
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According to AICC insiders, the silent campaign focusing on voter connect was launched to cover the gaps during the previous 2017 poll campaign when the party gave a tough challenge to the ruling BJP but could not form the government.
Over the past months, as the Jan Mitra-led local teams visited the households, the AICC and state level observers regularly reviewed feedback from the ground. “The feedback is positive. The voters have been afraid of coming out and speaking against the ruling BJP publicly but they will express themselves through the vote tomorrow. Our booth-level teams will ensure maximum voter turnout,” said Patel.
According to party strategists, a silent campaign allowed the grand old party to save resources that usually go into organizing big rallies and helped them fight a negative perception that the Congress was nowhere in the campaign.
“We have been working at the grassroots level and people really want a change. This has been visible over the past few days. BJP chief JP Nadda came to Baroda but could not do a rally. There have been a lot of BJP rallies where people did not turn up,” AICC Secretary in charge of Gujarat Usha Naidu told ETV Bharat.
Making a comparison between the phase I polling to be held on December 1 with that of 2017 elections, Congress strategists said that the grand old party had done well in the Saurashtra region but not so well in the South Gujarat areas, which have a concentration of Tribal-dominated Assembly constituencies.
As a result, the South Gujarat areas have been the focus of the party managers who ensured that both Rahul Gandhi and party national president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed rallies there.
“At the recent Mehsana rally of Kharge, we had a problem arranging chairs for the public as the crowd was more than our expectation. We will do well in South Gujarat this time,” said Patel. The Gujarat polls are crucial for the Congress, which has been out of power for the past 27 years and is banking on its change agenda this time.
Also read: Gujarat polls: BJP's attack on Patkar attempt to paint Congress against state's interests
Yet, the grand old party is also concerned that the ruling BJP may exert some influence in the phase 1 polling on Thursday. Accordingly, not only the observers in the state, but party functionaries in Delhi will also be on high alert on Dec 1.
Beside the team led by AICC general secretary in charge Raghu Sharma, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who is a special AICC observer, would also keep a watch on the polling process on Thursday. Of late, Gehlot has campaigned aggressively across the western state.
Regular feedback would also be provided to Congress chief Kharge, who was in Gujarat on November 27 and 28 to mobilize support for the Congress candidates and target the BJP, said party insiders. Though Kharge took charge as party chief only on October 26, the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat polls were being held during his presidency, they said.
“The BJP is misusing the government machinery. Under their influence, some news channels have run opinion polls recently against the SC guidelines. When people are angry, it is our duty to mobilize their support,” said Patel.
“We have our own strategies in place but we can’t share them,” said Usha Naidu while expressing the confidence that the results on December 8 will be surprising Earlier, AICC in charge Raghu Sharma had alleged that public funds were being utilized for the ruling party events in the run up to the polls.
A day ahead of the polling, the grand old party even approached the Election Commission on Wednesday over the alleged violations of the model poll code in Gujarat and demanded a level-playing field, the sources added.
