Congress,BJP yet to find reasons for debacle in LS polls

The poor show by some Congress and BJP candidates in their home constituencies during the recent Lok Sabha elections has surprised many.

The poor show by some Congress and BJP candidates in their home constituencies during the recent Lok Sabha elections has surprised many. It seems the candidates were so busy campaigning for party candidates they had no time left to go to voters in their own constituencies or areas of influence. Many have attributed low polling in constituencies of high profile leaders to non-allocation of specific tasks to office-bearers.

The big blow was felt in Bharuch where AICC presidents political advisor Ahmed Patel wields considerable clout. Here,the BJP candidate polled 62,314 votes which were 21,785 more than the Congress candidates 40,729. Likewise,in Porbandar which is the backyard of former CLP leader Arjun Modhwadia,the party polled 37,955 votes,6,113 less than 44,068 votes secured by the BJP candidate.

GPCC president Siddharth Patel represents Bodeli in the State Assembly. In Bodeli,the Congress candidate polled 750 votes less than the BJP candidate who got 45,948 votes.

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Former Deputy Chief Minister Narhari Amin still holds sway in Sabaramti constituency which falls in Gandhinagar. But despite a perceived anti-Advani wave,the Congress suffered a deficit of 25,602 votes. Advani polled 61,753 votes against which the Congress polled 36,151 votes.

In Godhra,where former Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela used to win elections with record margins as a BJP candidate,the Congress candidate got 44,258 votes against the 47,831 votes polled by the BJP rival. Jalalpor in Navsari,which used to send late PCC chief C D Patel to the Assembly,saw the Congress secure 14,613 votes less than the BJP candidate.

Kunwarji Bavalia,Tushar Chaudhary and Bharatsinh Solanki ensured better show in their constituencies,while CLP leader Shaktisinh Gohils performance was a mixed bag.

For the BJP,the biggest surprise was the partys deficit in Kalol and Gandhinagar north where the partys prime ministerial candidate L K Advani was in the fray.

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Siddhpur represented by State Health and Tourism Minister Jay Narayan Vyas showed a negative difference of 4,101 votes,while Mansa,from where former Assembly Speaker Mangalbhai Patel,gave a deficit of 10,440 votes to the party candidate.

A deficit of 542 votes was also witnessed in Kadi,represented by Urban Development Minister Nitin Patel. Keshod,the home turf of former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel,saw the BJP candidates secure 5,576 votes less than the Congress candidate.

In Amreli,the stronghold of State Co-operation and Agriculture Minister Dilip Sanghani,the party had to suffer a deficit of 3,319 votes.

Though the election results were out a month ago,both Congress and the BJP,are either struggling to find the reasons for the debacle or trying to keep them under wraps.

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GPCC chief Siddharth Patel said the matter required detailed analysis and discussion and nothing could be said off hand about it. BJP state president Purshottam Rupala said his party was looking for the reasons. You please help us and tell us if you find one, he said.

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