Gujarat is Bharatiya Janta Party’s home ground and they can not afford to lose it at any cost. The party is involved in the relay race of chief ministers in Gujarat as a part of the remedy. Earlier former chief minister Anandiben Patel and now, Vijay Rupani had to resign before their term ended. To discuss the vacuum of leadership in Gujarat; Vibes of India spoke to senior Congress leader Himmatsingh Patel, MLA Bapunagar.
Excerpts from the conversation:
Rupani’s resignation, an expected move
In the political circuit, the talks of Rupani stepping down were discussed from the past few months. This was expected we just didn’t know when it will take place. There are a few reasons for this move. First is, even though he was a simple man he failed to build connection amongst his public. He didn’t get their confidence. Second, was his total failure in dealing with issues in the state from unemployment, poverty, inflation to Covid. He didn’t come up with any strong decisions in favour of the public.
Gujarat is BJP’s nose
“Gujarat is the home ground of BJP, it’s their nose and they can’t afford to see it slaughtered anymore. There is angst in public against the party due to innumerable reasons and the party can’t afford to take any wrong decisions. All they can do is take corrective actions and that’s what they are doing. This is all a preparation for the forthcoming Gujarat elections in 2022.”
No hospital bed, no 108, no benefits to the ones who lost their loved ones, no help to migrant workers…public remembers everything. The pain and helplessness is fresh in people’s heart. And you can’t make up for the loss in just a few upcoming months. The damage is done. BJP’s propaganda, mega launches and promotions will begin but I doubt if they will bear fruits.
You can’t Patidar’s demands
Patidar plays a very important and effective role in Indian politics. Even history is a witness to the fact. You can’t avoid their needs and demands. When Anandiben resigned from the position of CM, Patidar community was not happy. They have demanded a Patidar Gujarat CM for so long and finally, BJP is paying heed to their concerns. In politics, you can’t predict anything and therefore, it’s still tough for us to predict what comes next. Time will tell. All we can say is Gujarat badly needs a leader with a vision, someone who is concerned about the public and their welfare.
Opportunity for Congress?
The conundrum of BJP in Gujarat and AAP being in its inception stage in the state, all is an opportunity for Congress to deal with public issues. Our focus is to emphasise the core concerns of the public from unemployment, lack of education, agriculture and farming problems and Covid healthcare facilities. The points where BJP failed are our main focus to work upon. Congress is more united now than we ever were.
