The swift BJP operation to project a new face has deepened anxieties in the rudderless Gujarat Congress, which is waiting for months for a new state unit chief and general secretary in-charge.
The Congress, which almost uprooted the BJP in the 2017 Assembly elections, has been on the decline since then even as the disenchantment with the BJP peaked during the pandemic, badly denting even the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his home state.
The lukewarm response to the BJP’s “Aashirwad Yatra” in recent weeks and the feedback from rural areas convinced the Congress that the tide was turning decisively, but there was nobody to plan the political action to exploit the negative sentiment.
The Congress central leadership was quick to describe the change of guard in Gandhinagar as a ploy to divert attention from the disastrous governance, amplified during the Covid-19 crisis, but the state leaders unanimously believe that they failed to take advantage. They squarely blame the high command and the leadership crisis there for the miserable state of Opposition in the state which is the wellspring of strength for Modi.
Senior leaders of the Gujarat Congress conceded on Sunday that the BJP central leadership had intervened in time to stem the rot while their high command was “shockingly disinterested”.
A senior leader told The Telegraph from Ahmedabad: “The BJP has addressed a major demand of the aggrieved Patidars by appointing the chief minister from their community. They are battered and exhausted but still preparing for the journey ahead. We are fast asleep, stubbornly refusing to wake up.”
While the outgoing chief minister Vijay Rupani was hardly a factor in Gujarat politics as the entire management was done by Modi and Amit Shah from Delhi, the BJP has assuaged the feelings of Patidar community with the choice of Bhupendra Patel, blunting a lethal electoral plank of the Congress.
“The Patidar movement is anyway over but there was dissatisfaction in the community. We hoped to encash that in the election. But that is difficult now,” a Congress leader said.
“We tried to tap the Patidar anger by making Hardik Patel the working president. But he hardly did anything. He kept sulking, complaining against lack of free hand in the organisation. Who stopped him from campaigning throughout the state? He had the blessings of Rahul Gandhi. Hardik could have built a political capital during these months but he wasted a great opportunity. Now we will have to build a fresh narrative to counter the BJP,” he said.
Pointing to the organisational lull in the party, Congress leaders explained how the BJP has now ironed out the coordination issues in their camp.
“Gujarat BJP chief C.R. Patil couldn’t get along with Rupani. Patil was Modi’s choice while Rupani was close to Shah. Now the new chief minister, a confidant of former chief minister Anandiben Patel, who too was opposed to Shah and close to Modi, will work in tandem with the state chief,” the Congress leaders said.
“In our organisation, every leader is on his own; there is no attempt by the central leadership to build a cohesive team,” they added.
The state Congress chief Amit Chavda and legislature party leader Paresh Dhanani resigned in March after the miserable performance in local body polls. The state committee was dissolved.
In May, the general secretary in-charge of the state, Rajiv Satav died of Covid-19.A delegation from Gujarat came to Delhi last month to plead with the high command to make the appointments at the earliest.
