BJP is not overconfident, Congress is contesting seriously

There are just five days left for 14th February Khadia assembly byelection in Ahmedabad. While BJP is not overconfident, the Congress party is contesting the election seriously employing its full strength.

Congress party’s primary target is around 30,000 Muslim votes of this assembly area. BJP is trying its best to ensure maximum turnout in the areas where it enjoys traditional support of committed voters.

Congress party’s all big leaders are working hard for victory in Khadia. Shankarsinh Vaghela addresses community meetings of Khadia in Gujarat Congress head quarter at Paldi. Vaghela wants to remain low profile during the campaign. He does not visit Khadia, but continues to involve himself in campaign through telephone. After Shaktisinh’s rally and Bhajan evening, Congress candidate Jagat Shukla offered free dinner to hundreds of people in the name of inauguration of new Mandir. Shukla does not reside in Khadia, but he has contested the Khadia assembly election once in the past. He lost in that election against late Ashok Bhatt.

Congress party has assigned responsibility of booths to its parliament and state level leaders. The BJP has assigned booths to various ward units of Ahmedabad city BJP.

Free dinners are organized in Muslim area of Raikhad almost everyday for last one week period. Raikhad is Muslim dominated area in Khadia assembly constituency. Congress’s state level Muslim leaders are camping here to ensure maximum voting in favor of Congress.

In a same way, BJP is trying its best to ensure maximum voting in Hindu dominated core Khadia locality. BJP is ahead of Congress in booth management because it is enjoying deep rooted network of party workers in every corner and every street of Khadia. Congress doesn’t enjoy such network in Khadia. Jagat Shukla himself has lost his personal circle of friends and his core team in Khadia. He doesn’t stay in Khadia anymore.

Khadia is considered traditionally a BJP bastion, but Congress leaders say they want to do in Khadia byelection, what Sabarmati assembly byelection had done for then Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel. It should be noted here that Keshubhai was asked to resign from Chief Minister’s post after BJP lost Sabarmati byelection ten years back.

Observers close to day-to-day developments of Khadia campaign believe that late Ashok Bhatt had committed 27000 voters. His son Bhushan will get at least 22000 to 24000 votes. Observers also say that Congress wants some chunk of Hindu votes to get victory, but it is difficult. Booth management would be crucial for victory of any party. Sabotage is possible in either case. While a small fraction of BJP does not want Bhushan to win, there is also a small fraction of Muslims in Jamalpur that does not want Jagat Shukla to win this election. This is because in 2012 the Muslims would like to have a Muslim candidate here.

Debate between Khadia by-election candidates(Gujarati Video)