In Vadodara, Congress’s Vishwamitri poll pitch is a trickle in BJP campaign

As she speaks, she reminds the voters of the two tragedies that hit the city in 2024: a boat capsize that killed 12 children and two of their teachers who were out on a school picnic, and the August 24 floods that submerged the city for nearly three days. During the floods, caused largely because of a blocked natural outflow, the water level in the river had risen above the 36-foot danger mark.

The Vishwamitri, winding through at least 11 of the 19 wards in the city, has been central to Vadodara’s ecology. But over the years, rapid urbanisation, encroachments along its banks and shrinking wetlands have altered its behaviour.

What was once seasonal swelling has turned into recurring flooding, with even moderate rainfall overwhelming drainage systems. The State Human Rights Commission, taking cognisance of a report published by The Indian Express following the August 2024 floods, has also appointed a committee of experts to oversee the flood mitigation project.

Raval says, “It is a story that repeats every year… Are we really safe in the next monsoon?”

While Vadodara’s most predictable monsoon crisis appears to be played down in the campaign of the BJP, the Congress has promised a “Vishwamitri Task Force” and the Aam Aadmi Party a “flood-free Vadodara”.

he BJP has been in power in Vadodara for six terms since 1995, with the space for the opposition constantly shrinking. Of the total 76 seats, the BJP won 69 in the 2021 municipal corporation elections, and the rest went to the Congress.

Three other Congress candidates—Nilesh Patel, Meenal Goswami and Satish Vasava—in Ward no. 3 are toeing the party line like Raval. The Congress, in fact, launched its manifesto on April 7 from the Yawateshwar Ghats (banks) of the Vishwamitri River near Kala Ghoda.

In Ward no. 18 of Manjalpur area, which is close to the Vishwamitri, the AAP has put up banners saying, “We promise that we will not let the Vishwamitri flood the city” if voted to power, though it has not fielded candidates on all seats.

Meanwhile, the BJP’s campaign largely revolves around Prime Minister Narendra Modi, infrastructure and broader urban development—providing 200 to 250 MLD more drinking water to the city, laying new drainage lines at various locations, new bridge over Alkapuri railway underpass, utility corridor, new service roads, 75-meter new ring road, 250 electric buses, global status to Vadodara heritage and so on.

Raopura BJP MLA and whip of the party in the Legislative Assembly Balkrishna Shukla, who was the Mayor when the first draft of the Vishwamitri Riverfront project was mooted in 2008, says, “The Vishwamitri flood mitigation project was announced by the chief minister (Bhupendra Patel) after the 2024 floods and is in advanced stages of planning and execution after the dredging and desilting were carried out to increase the capacity of the river last year… By the virtue of it being an ongoing government project, the party cannot include it in the manifesto…”

Shukla added that the party manifesto mentions a project for the crocodile park and “crocodile viewing point” of the Vishwamitri as well as the lake interlinking, which is part of the entire flood mitigation plan. Another leader of the BJP, on condition of anonymity, says, “In some wards, there has been heated exchange of words with voters over the promise to rein in the river. The voters are aware that the party in power is the only one that can complete the Vishwamitri project. It is in progress, and the party is aware that it cannot afford another 2024-like situation.

Residents, however, feel that the ‘omission’ from the BJP manifesto is striking. Vishwamitri resident Balwant Thakor, employed as a driver, says, “Flooding affects thousands directly and disrupts the entire city indirectly. Yet, it doesn’t find space in speeches or campaign priorities… The corporators do not utilise their grants to complete important works because public life is taken for granted. The lack of good alternatives in electoral politics is the reason why the BJP manages to scrape through to power despite this repeated loss of property due to floods.”

In the neighbourhoods of Harni, Sayajigunj, Vishwamitri, Akota and parts of Raopura, flood preparedness is not a government protocol, but a household routine. Residents say, “We don’t wait for warnings anymore. We assume there will be a flood,” says a shopkeeper in Harni, pointing to marks on his wall left by the last flood.

City Congress President Rutvij Joshi said that candidates of the party in 11 wards covering areas including Chhani, Sama, Harni, Nagarwada, Machhipeeth, Karelibaug, Akota, Vishwamitri, Manjalpur, Vadsar, Kalali, and Makarpura have been asked to raise the Vishwamitri issue. Joshi says, “The identity of Vadodara comes from the Vishwamitri river, which is named after a revered Hindu saint. The crocodiles of the Vishwamitri are also the city’s unique identity… The state government declared a project of Rs 1,200 crores to rejuvenate the Vishwamitri and they claim that Rs 180 crores has been spent on the dredging and desilting of the river. There is no record of how much mud and how many trees have been taken away from the riverine system during the project…”

Joshi says, “People of the city went without food and water for four days due to the floods and suffered excessive damage. But the encroachments that cause the floods are still standing as it is… The Congress’ Task Force will conduct a study and appoint an intellectual committee of environmental experts to deal with this issue… Until then, we are only reminding the voters that when they vote in the upcoming polls, they must not forget that the Vishwamitri floods are BJP-made and the result of the rampant corruption in the VMC, which has been under the BJP’s rule for three decades.”