Confident BJP intent on widening margin

The mood in the Congress camp is a striking contrast. “Our biggest handicap is our resource constraint”, says senior party leader Sunik Bhukanwala. “We have the manpower, but we lack the resources that the BJP has in plenty. Because they’re in power everywhere — in the civic body, in the State and at the Centre they can tap the resources that we can’t. Therefore, we can’t match the BJP’s campaign.”

If only funds were the only problem for the party! The Congress’s headaches, in fact, began the day the central leadership gave the go-ahead to Rupin Patchigar’s nomination. “It was clear from the opposition (to his candidature) that partymen would not work whole-heartedly for Patchigar, whom they see as an outsider”, says lone Congress councillor Bhupendra Solanki.

“They pretend to be supporting him, but we know that’s only a ploy to pull the wool over the eyes of the candidate and the party leadership.”That is not to say that it was all smooth sailing for the BJP. It received a nasty jolt when the diamond industry threatened to boycott the polls. But a shrewd Rana stepped in to cool down temperatures. “I told them we would meet after the elections, when we can do whatever needs to be done”, says Rana.

Notwithstanding the pro-BJP mood of the constituency, some Congressmen are optimistic about the party’s chances. Former MLA Babubhai Patel says confidently, “The Congress is doing well in the 94 villages of Olpad taluka. The BJP raised their expectations, but wasn’t able to fulfill them. This’ll obviously benefit us.”

Ground reality, however, seems to tell another story. One major factor responsible for the low morale of Congress workers is the non-availability of any national leader for the local campaign. Asked why no high-profile party leader had come to Surat for electioneering, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee secretary Rizwan Osmani says, “Only GPCC president C D Patel can answer that.”

City Congress chief Pratap Kantharia, however, admits candidly that they didn’t have enough resources to organise a public meeting for chief campaigner Sonia Gandhi. “Any public meeting she addresses costs Rs 15 lakhs at least. The local party unit has to bear the costs. We simply didn’t have that kind of money”, says Kantharia.

For all that, Osmani believes the Congress has a head-start. “It’s very simple”, he explains. “Of the 19,52,000 voters, 6 lakh are Kodi Patels, 4 lakh are Muslims and 5 lakhs are slum-dwellers Dalits who are committed Congress voters.”

Idris Azam Khan, a Congress leader, too believes Muslim votes are firmly with his party. “No Muslim will ever vote for the BJP. They may join it, but they won’t vote for it.”

But Asad Kalyani, an NSUI leader, feels that though Patchigar may win over the middle-class and the white-collar workers, he will not affect the BJP’s traditional vote-bank. Noted writer Bhagwati Kumar Sharma echoes the sentiment, maintaining, “Rana has the upper hand. His long political career will stand him in good stead. Besides, despite the Hajuria-Khajuria divide, the BJP is putting up a united show, unlike the Congress.”

The Congress disunity is apparent even to those not involved in politics. “Though the Congress has a good candidate, he is not supported even by Congress workers”, says Mohammed Nayeem, who runs a tyre service centre. “The Congress has already accepted defeat”, believes Ravindra Dholabhai, a businessman. “That’s why the missionary zeal is missing.”

Even party supporters are pessimistic about the Congress’s chances. “I’d like the Congress to win, but I know that’s not possible”, says Salim, a paan vendor. In the minds of the electorate, the battle has already been fought.