Every time an election is announced in India, I take it for another battle of Mahabharta which now I would like referring to as 'War without End'. That is because electioneering in India is a perennial process, which is carried out with irritating ingemination. The bugles for one or the other battle continue to be sounded with sickening regularity.
When the dates for elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat were announced, I did not think that these elections merited particular attention. I assumed that in Gujarat, Modi / BJP juggernaut would be on a roll without meeting even a notional resistance, BJP having earlier managed a coup of sorts in the Gujarat state Congress organization; Ahmed Patels' Rajya Sabha victory on technical grounds not withstanding. My lack of interest was reinforced by another customary routine- the opinion poll, that follows any announcement of an election. This time round too, the opinion polls were conducted. India Today polls grudgingly informed that a decisive victory for BJP in both the states was imminent.
And suddenly, the self-appointed guardians of secular Indian democracy, the electronic media satraps like Rajdeep Sardesai and the others of his ilk started seeing ghosts. They started hallucinating of an unfettered, unchallenged and autocratic Modi/BJP government back at the centre in 2019. They woke up with a start and an agenda to stop Modi/BJP in their tracks. And election in Gujarat was imparted unparallelled significance.
Congress was shaken from its stupor. It was goaded and exhorted to try and fight the last ditch battle irrespective of the odds. It was perhaps given the pep talk coupled with the faint hope that the worst had already passed and things could only look up from here on wards. Therefore post-haste, Rahul Gandhi was ostensibly resurrected as the comeback messiah though perhaps in reality he has been once more made the sacrificial lamb.
A lot has happened since then though most of it is as absurd as can be.
Rahul Gandhi launched a broad side on Modi/Amit Shah/BJP emphasizing that they had failed the people of India and particularly the people of Gujarat by jeopardizing their livelihoods through demonetization, GST and 'the much hyped but defunct' Gujarat model of development.
Rahul Gandhi seems to be smug with a feeling that he has discovered in himself a creative streak of poking fun through "satire and pun". He appears to be enthralled by it. He is seen to be relishing his calling GST as 'Gabbar Singh Tax'. (See Reference 1)
The 'Gujarat model of development' was mocked at through a social media blitz comprising a number of videos with the 'innovative' catchphrase विकास गांडो थायो छे (Vikas has gone crazy). Vikas (a very popular name having the meaning of "Development") going crazy insinuates that Gujarat model of development has gone haywire.(See Reference 2). Rahul Gandhi was supported by other congress worthies like P.Chidambram in spreading the expression.
The electronic media opposed to Modi/BJP has been conducting debates / discussions on a daily basis and stage managing on-site surveys (polls) trying to create the impression that widespread discontent exists in the people of Gujarat against the incumbent BJP governments at the centre and the state. It tacitly tries to induce people into feeling that a Rahul or congress wave has begun to take shape and that the same will be able to dislodge the incumbent Gujarat government in 2017 and will prevent Modi from getting a second term at the centre in 2019.
Congress has been trying to rebuild Rahul Gandhi as a leader for quite sometime. This exercise had started even before the elections to HP and Gujarat were announced. He was suddenly hailed as a leader with massive following on the social media like Twitter. It was claimed that he had outsmarted Modi with number of tweets and re-tweets and that he would give Modi a run for his money in the coming days. However, BJP media managers were quick to lay bare the claim by proving that 'Bots' were instrumental for Rahul's pretentious claim to fame. (See Reference 3)
The controversy over Bhansali's film Padmavati was played up by the media as reignition of intolerance debate. The timing of the controversy smells of a carefully planned conspiracy to bias and wean certain sections of the society away from BJP. More on this topic in another piece some time later.
Another carefully planned conspiracy raised its head in the form of Rahul Gandhi's sudden and unprecedented display of faith in Hindu gods. He visited various temples in Gujarat ostensibly to seek blessings for the success of his election campaign. As part of the process, he visited Somnath where his name was entered in a register for non-hindu visitors. BJP spokespersons were quick to latch on to this 'misdemeanour' and branded him a hypocrite who was going temple hopping only to pull the wool over the eyes of Gujarati electorate. Congress showed extraordinary swiftness and urgency in claiming that he was a born hindu, a Shiv-bhakt and a Janeu dhari brahmin to top it all. Who will ultimately benefit from this controversy, is hard to tell.
Yet another event that the Congress considers an achievement is that Rahul Gandhi was able to woo Hardik Patel, another self proclaimed bete noir of BJP. It thinks that Hardik Patel along with Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mevani will be able to turn the tide against Modi and in favour of Congress. The rationale behind the optimism is that three above named are youth leaders and they will coalesce with Rahul Gandhi more easily than they would with Modi. (See Reference 4)
BJP lost no time in assigning the troika a new identity called HAJ, an acronym made from the initials of their names. The identity has glaring communal overtones.
Another event that was lapped up by the media was the filing of nomination papers by Rahul Gandhi for president-ship of the Congress. A big show was made of the nomination by the congress (See Reference 5). Not unexpectedly, BJP dismissed the event as an eyewash and mockery of democratic processes and values. There were some very interesting and intriguing comments from both congress partisans and loyalists and the adversaries from BJP.
It was good to see that Manmohan Singh found his long last speech when he waxed eloquence to say that " Rahul ji has been the darling of the Congress----"
In stark contrast, Shahzad Poonawalla, a very vocal Maharashtra Congress leader, suddenly raised the banner of revolt. He had hitherto taken great pains in projecting himself as a dyed-in-the wool congress loyalist. Labelling Rahul's nomination a "coronation", he termed it as a black day in the history of the party.
And Mani Shankar Iyer already notorious for his immodesty, vitriolic tongue and penchant for creating controversies by making derogatory remarks about any adversary in general and Modi in particular, came out with an ambiguous statement. He quipped that "When Shah Jahan came in the place of Jahangir did any election happen? And when Aurangzeb came in place of Shah Jahan did any election happen? It was known to everyone that the throne of the king will automatically go to the heir"
Modi was quick to grab the opportunity. Addressing a public meeting in Dharampur constituency in Gujarat, he said: "Mani Shankar Aiyar, who never shies away from showing loyalty to one family, proudly said - When Shah Jahan came in the place of Jahangir did any elections happen? --------"
Modi went on to hit the nail on the head by saying "I congratulate the Congress on their 'Aurangzeb Raj.' For us, the wellbeing of the people matters and 125 crore Indians are our high command,"
All this while, I had been eagerly awaiting for a Brahmastra akin to demonetization from Modi / BJP that would destroy the challenge from his opponents completely and comprehensively. It has been elusive in the current battle. In the absence of high class weapons from both sides, BJP as well as Congress, the battle degenerated into indecent war of words.
Mani Shankar Iyer made an extremely objectionable remark about Modi calling him 'neech' and an uncultured person. Whether the Gujaratis will retaliate by voting congress out is to be taken with a proverbial pinch of salt.
Modi launched an exasperating attack on the Congress by brandishing a double-edged sword in the form of a serious allegation that a seditious conspiracy had been hatched at Mani Shankar Iyer's house. He alleged that a secret rendezvous organized at that place had senior Congress leaders including ex-PM Manmohan Singh and ex-VP Hamid Ansari striking a cozy deal with a group of Pakistani diplomats and military strategists to chalk out a program to undermine the success of BJP at the Gujarat hustings this season. This allegation betrays a sense of desperation and a diminishing of confidence creeping in the BJP camp regarding its expectations of the results in Gujarat elections. At the same time, Gujarat congress is complaining of misuse or tempering of EVMs. (See Reference 5). This clearly indicates that Congress leaders are also nervous after having made tall claims about handing BJP a defeat in its most prestigious and impregnable bastion.
The last day of campaigning saw two significant expositions from the chiefs of the two warring armies. Modi became the first passenger in the very first flight of a sea plane in India. He took off from Sabramati River Front in Ahmedabad to land at Dharoi dam en route to Amba Ji temple. As per BJP, this act redoubles BJP's agenda of development. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi continued his temple run, this time visiting Jagannath Temple more to pray to the people of Gujarat to vote in favour of a hindu Rahul Gandhi-led Congress than to show to Lord Jagannath his faith in Him.
The battle of Gujarat, which seemed innocuous in the beginning, has turned out to be a pot-boiler which is fueled by jibes and jeers, taunts and sneers, barbs and smears - albeit of the worst kind.
The Campaign Gujarat has had deleterious effect on both BJP and Congress. Both seem to have suffered
ataque de nervios (attack of nerves)
This battle of nerves and swerves, jitters and fritters, insinuations and implications and innuendos and verbal kendos would be decided on 18th December, 2017 but the war without end will continue.
Though I told myself that it would advisable not to take sides and not to hazard a guess but await the results in stead, the gut feeling is the BJP Pandvas will win this battle of Mahabharat 2017 too. They have not only definitely openly exhibited a faculty and willingness for repartee but also their resolve to win at all costs.
Fortune favours the brave
Reference 1: http://www.news18.com/news/politics/rahul-gandhi-calls-bjps-gst-gabbar-singh-tax-says-gujarat-youth-cant-be-bought-1554525.html
Reference 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4zryL_VcrE&list=RDo4zryL_VcrE&index=1
Reference 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqVPGJBqkEs
Reference 4:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/hardik-patel-alpesh-thakor-jignesh-mevani-gujarats-youth-factor/articleshow/61679722.cms
Reference 5: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/rahul-gandhi-files-nomination-for-congress-president-post/article9980952.ece
Reference 6:http://indianexpress.com/elections/gujarat-assembly-elections-2017/gujarat-elections-2017-congress-complains-of-evm-tampering-via-bluetooth-ec-orders-probe-4975319/
