Yet another massive stroke played by the BJP, leaving the opposition far behind in the race of campaigning ahead of the Gujarat assembly election which will take place in two phases in the state. The first phase of the voting will be done on 9 Dec and the second phase of voting will be done on 14 Dec, the results will be announced on 18 Dec along with the results of Himachal Pradesh assembly elections due on 9 Nov.
It seems like the BJP was just waiting for the right opportunity to give another blow to the already nervous Congress. As soon as Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi left Gujarat to attend to the more immediate elections campaign in Himachal, BJP launched the ‘Gujarat Gaurav Maha-Sampark Abhiyan‘, under which the BJP members will go from door to door, appealing for votes and telling the people about the development work done by the BJP for them and for the state.
The campaign does not just end here, to add the spark to it while visiting the residents, each voter is given a copy of a copy of a letter personally written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. Modi taking advantage of Gujarat being his home state and he being the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 13 years, emotionally connected with the people by writing a letter to them.
In his letter, Modi has urged that “it is the responsibility of the people to not let the State fall into the pit of caste-communal politics and “do justice to the struggle for vikaas that every Gujarati had to undergo when the UPA government at the centre was hostile towards them.” He also warned the people to be careful of the vested interests that are being flaked by opposition to create distinctions among Gujaratis for their own political benefit.
Asking the people to vote for BJP in a massive majority, Modi said that “Today’s Gujaratis who are in their early twenties may not remember how the State was reeling under politics played on inciting communal and caste biases among voters years ago but it is your responsibility to rescue the State from falling into that trap again.”
The Prime Minister’s letter also read that if the BJP comes back to power in Gujarat, it will be for the first time after many years that BJP will be at power both at the state and the Centre and this will definitely add to the speedy development of Gujarat.
“It has only been three years since you gave me an opportunity to lead the nation and in that short time, we have brought in various schemes to improve the lives of the poor. But we are Gujaratis, we always want more development and the time has come for us to grow more, grow faster,” he wrote in the letter.
He also attacked the then ruling UPA government saying that the government had tried their best to create hindrances and stop the Sardar Sarovar project on the Narmada but it was his government that made the project operational. Praising the Gujaratis for the understanding and decision making abilities, Modi in his letter wrote that “No one understands vikaas better than Gujaratis. Only development is an answer to all problems and you all must take the Vikas yatra ahead by voting for the BJP again.”
Trying to hit the emotional chords of the people of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed Gujaratis as his ‘Aatma’ and India as his ‘Parmatma’. In his letter, he also reminded that how bad the situations were in Gujarat, 22 years ago and how after BJP came to power, the party helped not only put Gujarat ahead of all States in India but also made it the land of immense opportunities for growing businesses and sustainable livelihoods.
While the Congress is busy luring the Patidar and the Dalits, the BJP is reaching out to each voter personally, leaving much more impact than the opposition party. It is high time that the Congress buckle up its shoe and come up with some unbeatable campaigning ideas if the party really wishes to end its political exile of 22 years in Gujarat.