Decoding Gujarat Election Pre-poll Preps One Party at a Time

Gujarat Assembly Elections is just around the corner. From Congress to new entrants, including the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Aam Aadmi Party, are trying to wrest power from the BJP, who has been ruling the party for nearly 25 years. So, How are the parties faring in their pre-poll election preparations? What are the aspects to look out for ahead of the much-awaited Gujarat elections? Let's Decode.

Saffron Giant-BJP

In the 2017 Gujarat Election, BJP secured 99 seats forming the Government for the 6th consecutive term. The Congress came a close second at 77 seats, but the BJP is not ready to take any chances this year. The Saffron party's tallest leaders, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been frequenting the state for quite some while. The PM for eg, have witnessed the state twice in 2 weeks. On his latest visit on June 10, the PM addressed a gathering of tribals at Khudvel village in Navsari district, targeting the large tribal vote bank in the state. Modi is also expected to Vadodara on June 18.

Apart from leaning on to popular leaders to drive the electoral campaign, BJP Gujarat' electoral strategy also has an eye out for the Patidar vote bank in the state. With one of BJP's most vocal critics,former Congress Member and moreover Patidar leader, Hardik Patel joining the saffron party, BJP's dominance in Gujarat was cemented further. His induction into the party will help to woo the Patidar community more effectively.To tackle anti-incumbency the party had also replaced Vijay Rupani was replaced with low-profile Bhupendra Patel from the Patidar community. 

Powerless Congress?

Congress performance in the recent local body polls has been far from impressive. The grand old party won a clear majority only in one out of 81 municipalities and 18 out of 231 taluka panchayats. The party hasn't been able to leverage its impressive performance in the 2017 Assembly polls when it lost to BJP by a narrow margin of 22 seats to its advantage.

The defection of major leaders like Hardik Patel and Alpesh Tokar was a major blow to the already weak Congress cadre in Gujarat. The Congress, however, is relying on Rahul Gandhi to boost the pre-poll preparations of the cadre. Rahul Gandhi's Gujarat visit in early May and his subsequent interaction with the Adivasis is expected to have made a notable chunk of tribals side with the Congress. It is imperative to note that Congress hasn;t been in power in the state for an astounding 27 years and with its deteriorating vote bank the party really needs to bring it A-game if they even dream of tackling the gargantuan force ie BJP in the state.

New Entrants-AAP AND AIMIM

AAP entered the political fray in Gujrat with the confidence of securing a Government with a stellar majority in the neighboring state if Punjab in 2022.The party, which claims to be the main contender to the ruling BJP in Gujarat has had the political corridors of the state bustling with its crowd-pulling marches.AAP did a 21-day long parivartan yatra across 600 villages interacting with nearly 10 lakh voters ahead of the Gujarat polls. The party's tallest leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann have also been frequenting the state more often recently.

Through roadshows and rallies, the party is also reaching out to the Patidar community, which has now being left abandoned after its leader Hardik Patel defected to the ideologically contrasting BJP. In May, AAP joined hands with the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), eyeing the tribal votes in the state. With Congress failing to bank on the anti-BJP votes, as is evident from its local body poll performance, and with AAP bagging impressive local body poll vote shares, the anti-BJP votes are expected to be consolidated around Kejriwal's Party.

 AIMIM is confidently entering the political fray in the state with the pride of winning 17 seats in debut local body elections in 3 municipalities.AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi, aware that the minority tag needs to be brushed off to gain votes in the state, had also urged party leaders to focus on all communities, not just Muslims. The President had also addressed public gatherings in cities, including Ahmedabad and Chappi. Despite all this, AIMIM's primary focus remains on consolidating Mulsim votes in Muslim-majority areas