Ahead of Assembly poll, Gujarat Congress faces defections, lack of direction from high command

it’s lower than two months earlier than Gujarat faces the Meeting election, however the primary Opposition Congress seems grappling with defections by senior leaders and legislators and lack of course from the highest management in Delhi.

Its State unit has been making an attempt to stay in form to tackle the ruling BJP and new entrant Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal main the campaigning for his or her events.

For the Congress high brass, the social gathering’s inner organisational election and Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra seem like the speedy high precedence they usually have remained occupied with these ongoing actions.

Earlier than kickstarting his yatra from Kanniyakumari, Mr. Gandhi addressed a rally in Ahmedabad on September 5 during which he introduced a variety of electoral sops resembling free electrical energy and farm debt waiver.

He’s now unlikely to return for campaigning due to the yatra he’s main. Thus far, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and normal secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have additionally not joined the marketing campaign, leaving the State leaders to handle on their very own.

The State social gathering leaders had been hoping that Ms. Gandhi would go to just a few Garba venues throughout Navratri in Ahmedabad and different locations which might have helped the social gathering in getting visibility that it badly requires as at current the BJP and the AAP are hogging the limelight.

“Priyanka Ji’s presence throughout Navratri would have been very useful to the social gathering and it might have boosted the morale of the social gathering staff,” a State social gathering chief informed The Hindu.

Gehlot’s absence

Additionally, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who has been appointed AICC senior observer for the social gathering in Gujarat for the Meeting polls, stays occupied in his personal State due to surprising political developments there, leaving not a lot time for Gujarat.

Thus far, Mr. Gehlot has visited the State a number of occasions earlier than the developments in Rajasthan and Delhi relating to the presidential polls within the grand Opposition social gathering.

Many Congress leaders in Gujarat really feel that the excessive command has not accorded due significance to the Meeting ballot in comparison with the BJP and the AAP whose high leaders are crisscrossing the State.

Thus far, since March this yr, Mr. Modi has visited the State 12 occasions and held rallies or roadshows and launched new tasks or inaugurated accomplished ones in a dozen totally different locations whereas Mr. Kejriwal has been to the State nearly two dozen occasions. Each leaders are actually visiting Gujarat nearly as soon as every week.

“There’s definitely lack of course from the highest management however one has to confess that the complete social gathering is present process huge adjustments and transformation,” a senior Congress chief mentioned, including social gathering’s inner developments and dynamics got here at flawed time.

In such conditions, the State unit is witnessing defections from its rank. This week, its senior legislator Harshad Ribadia joined the BJP. Earlier in July, a distinguished tribal chief and three-time legislator Ashwin Kotwal had resigned and joined the ruling social gathering.

In between, working president of the State and Patidar quota agitation chief Hardik Patel defected to the saffron camp. Former Rajya Sabha member Raju Parmar and former chief of Opposition within the Meeting Naresh Raval joined the BJP.

After the 2017 Meeting ballot, as many as 17 sitting Congress legislators have joined the BJP, bringing down the social gathering’s power from 78 to simply 61 now.

In the meantime, in accordance with insiders, 5 to 6 extra legislators are probably go to the opposite camp within the days to return. “We’re conscious that just a few extra leaders will be a part of the BJP,” mentioned Raghu Sharma, AICC in control of Gujarat.

He, nevertheless, blames the BJP for the defections from the Congress, citing “financial offers and misuse of the State companies.”