‘I’ve made this Gujarat’: Modi makes poll pitch

Raising the chants of “Aa Gujarat mein banavyu che (I have made this Gujarat)”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday officially launched the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the Gujarat assembly elections with a rally in Kaprada in the Adivasi belt of the state.

People have made up their minds to elect the BJP again, the PM said, adding that the “divisive forces” that tried to defame and insult the state were “swept out of Gujarat”.

“The people of Gujarat never accept those who spread hate. Whoever had tried to defame and insult Gujarat in the past have been wiped out of Gujarat by the people. In this election, too, such people will meet the same fate,” the PM said at the rally, his first since the Election Commission announced the poll schedule for the state, in tribal-dominated Nana Pondha village in Kaprada taluka of Valsad district.

The voting in the BJP-ruled state will be held in two phases, on December 1 and 15. The votes will be counted on December 8.

“The people of Gujarat have once again made up their minds to elect BJP. Not only this, they have decided to break all previous records,” he said.

In what appeared to be an outreach for the tribal community in the state, the Prime Minister said, “My ABCD starts with A for Adivasi. I have started my poll campaign in Gujarat by taking blessings of my Adivasi brothers and sisters.”

The tribal community forms 15% of the state’s population spread across 14 districts, with 27 seats in the assembly reserved for the community.

In the 2017 elections, Congress won 15 the seats reserved for the community, and BJP won nine. The Bharatiya Tribal Party won one seat while one seat at Modhwa Hadaf was won by an Independent candidate.

“Sitting in Delhi, I am getting the inputs that BJP will win with a record margin this time in Gujarat. In this election, I have told the Gujarat unit of the party that I am available for as much time as required. And this time I wish to break all my previous records. The record for chief minister Bhupendra (Patel) should be bigger than mine and I want to work to achieve this,” he said.

“This election is not fought by Bhupendra or Narendra, the people of Gujarat are fighting this election,” he said.

The BJP’s peak performance in Gujarat came in December 2002 elections under Modi, when the party had bagged 127 of the total 182 seats.

In the 2017 polls, the BJP’s tally shrunk to 99 while Congress improved its previous tally by 16 to bag 77 seats.

Under chief minister Bhupendra Patel, the BJP has 111 MLAs in the 182-member assembly, after 14 Congress MLAs switched sides and joined the BJP.

Without taking any names, Modi said the people of Gujarat have identified a “gang” working against Gujarat which always tries to defame the state. Though such people have been trying hard for the last two decades, the people of Gujarat never believed them, he said.

“Those who try to defame Gujarat are surprised why people of Gujarat are not believing their false propaganda. This is because the people of this state have made Gujarat with hard work and they will never allow someone to harm the state,” said Modi.

Hailing the state for turning its fate around in the last two decades, the PM said, “There were communal riots, everything came to a standstill for days together, people had to keep their business shut for days together. The people of Gujarat got together and took this state to where it is today. Gujarat today is developing at a rapid pace and has ample opportunities for all. If you look inside, from deep within a voice will echo that will say, ’Aa Gujarat mein banavyu che (I have made this Gujarat)’. I want you all to raise your hands and say this. People have built this state with their hard work.”

The BJP has been in power in the state for the last 27 years. Modi was the chief minister of the state for 13 of those, holding the position from 2001 to 2014.

Modi also asked the people to remember that it was “Kamal” (the BJP’s poll symbol is lotus) which brought prosperity to the region. The state is developing at a rapid pace and has ample opportunities for everyone, he said.

“Every Gujarati, be it an adivasi or a fisherman, be it a villager or an urban dweller, is full of confidence today,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that the school dropout rate among the girls was very high earlier and that it has come down drastically in the last two decades.

“Many girls used to dropout from schools earlier. We used to visit from village to village and beg them to send their daughters to school. As a result, the school dropout ratio of girls has gone down and they are pursuing higher education in various fields and progressing,” he said.

Not a single science school existed in the tribal belt (of Gujarat) a couple of decades ago, but today, tribals have access to science colleges and universities which are built in the region, he said.

The entire tribal belt stretching from Umargam in south Gujarat to Ambaji in the north now has five medical colleges, he added.

“Today, people are getting 24-hour electricity and I am also informed that 100 per cent of households in the state get tap water,” said the PM.

Hitting out at the Congress, he said, “The divisive politics of Congress kept the poor and backward people away from getting their basic needs fulfilled.”

The Congress was in power in the state in 1997, when the party joined hands with rebel BJP leader Shankersinh Vaghela’s Rashtriya Janata Party who served as the chief minister from 1996 to 1997.

Reacting to the PM’s comment, the Congress said, “From commercialization of education, inflation, growing unemployment and rising indebtedness of the state, we will highlight how the BJP has misgoverned for the past twenty-seven years.”

The state elections are expected to be a three-cornered contest, with the Aam Aadmi Party also gaining popularity.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister attended a mass marriage in Bhavnagar called ‘Papa Ni Pari Lagnotsav 2022’ where over 500 women were married.