A man who aims not only to win the affections of his state three times in a row, but also aims higher, is expected to comport himself with some dignity
What was remarkable about Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s public speech in Rajkot on Wednesday was the contrast it offered between Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s innuendo-ridden rhetoric on her medical expenses abroad being borne by the Centre and the composure she projected in the face of such a provocation.
The reply of the Central Information Commission, which became known shortly after Mrs Gandhi had spoken to the Gujarat farmers, that the Congress leader had not sought any government assistance in meeting her hospital bills and none was provided, shows up the personalised propaganda that the BJP’s Gujarat mascot appears to have whipped out in election season.
It is to be hoped that he will see the folly of pursuing such a course. It is, of course, conceivable that Mr Modi is a slow learner in this respect. All those years ago, many took strident note of the Congress president’s foreign origin, but this cut no ice with voters. In spite of this, Gujarat’s most significant saffron leader only recently made mean references to Mrs Gandhi’s foreignness and gratuitously suggested that her son Rahul contest an election in Italy as he was “not a national but an international leader”.
When the titters die down in the tub-thumpers’ enclosure, more sober elements can only reflect on the low nature of such election-time hot air with a sense of disappointment. A man who aims not only to win the affections of his state three times in a row, but also aims higher, is expected to comport himself with some dignity.
On Wednesday, Assembly polls were announced by the Election Commission in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat in November and December respectively. Both are BJP-run states and the results should make a difference to the political atmospherics. The current wisdom among the chatterati is that the Congress-led ruling UPA is on the ropes already and a defeat, particularly in Gujarat, will give it a body blow from which it may not easily recover.
It is impossible to rule this scenario out, just as it is difficult to rule any scenario in. However, there is no analysis yet of the impact on voters of recent government announcements regarding the economy. Nor is a comprehensive assessment available of the current organisational capabilities of the BJP, which is the Congress’ main challenger on the national platform. Such is the fragility within the BJP camp that a win for Mr Modi is not necessarily being looked at with mouth-watering anticipation by many. On the other side, if Mr Modi is unable to gain his objective in Gujarat, the BJP as a whole is likely to be placed on the defensive. That makes the Gujarat election a real catch-22 situation.
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