National   

Very little fight in Maninagar

Ahmedabad: If the Congress wins in Maninagar, it can perhaps win any seat in the Gujarat Assembly elections. Though on paper it is supposed to be a battle of the giants, there is very little fight evident in this constituency in the heart of Ahmedabad city, where the BJP Chief Minister Narendra Modi is seeking re-election.

Pitted against him is the Congress nominee, Union Minister of State for Petroleum Dinsha Patel, contesting the seat for the first time. He was considered the best possible choice for the Congress to challenge Mr. Modi after several senior leaders declined to contest against him. As for victory, the Congress leaders themselves do not give much of a chance to the 70-year-old Patel. And their hope that the Union Minister would at least be able to keep Mr. Modi tied down to his constituency for a considerable length of time was also proved wrong.

Carrying the entire party on his shoulders, Mr. Modi has made a whirlwind tour of the State, attending at least one meeting for every every BJP candidate. This has left very little time for him to concentrate in his own constituency. In fact, since he opened his election office in Maninagar the day he filed his nomination, Mr. Modi has not paid even one visit to his constituency. Only towards the close of the campaign, which ends on Friday, is he scheduled to address a couple of meetings there.

In contrast, Mr. Patel is spending all his time in the constituency along with a host of friends and supporters from Nadiad.

Taking advantage of the dissatisfaction among a section of the Patel voters with the BJP, particularly after the rebellion by the former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel against Mr. Modi’s leadership, the Congress was keen on putting up a “Patel” candidate to ensure at least that it was not a walk-over for the Chief Minister.

Patels account for over 42,000 votes among the 3.08 lakh electorate. Only Dalits with over 52,000 votes are a bigger constituent. The Congress claims that the backward classes are also unhappy with Mr. Modi’s development plank which, it says, benefited only rich industrialists.

Maninagar being a BJP stronghold, the party won the seat the last three times consecutively, and in every election by huge margins. In the 1995 and 1998 elections, the BJP’s Kamlesh Patel won by comfortable margins of over 52,000 and 48,000 votes, while Mr. Modi romped home by a margin of over 75,000 votes in 2002, defeating a prominent advocate Yatin Oza, who contested on Congress ticket. (Mr Oza, formerly a BJP MLA, has since returned to the party and is campaigning for Mr. Modi.)

The Congress is trying to cash in on a sentiment among a section of the electorate which thinks that Mr. Modi is overconfident and is taking the voters for granted. “He may be the Chief Minister but has done nothing for his constituency,” says this section.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

‘Court not bound by Bench observations’
GoM meet on oil pricing put off
Very little fight in Maninagar
Sex ratio declines further in five States
India should help promote democracy: Larry Diamond
A special coin shines
‘Vikram was destined to succeed’
Cabinet nod for first phase of modernisation of facilities at IMD
Offer jobs to less privileged: Fernandes
An afterthought: Congress
Prohibitory orders on Howrah college campus
Bangladeshi freedom fighters to participate in Vijay Diwas
Forensic science institute opened
Trauma care centres to be set up on NHs
Rahul Mahajan’s wife seeks divorce
Call to put in place central adoption registry
Municipality upgrade provision questioned
No child labour: Minister
250 acres transferred
Bills: CM hopeful
Parliament prorogued
Tiger action plans at work

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu