Lone red flag in saffron state

BJP has ruled Gujarat since 1995 and the last time a Left party candidate won an Assembly election in the state was in 1978...

BJP has ruled Gujarat since 1995 and the last time a Left party candidate won an Assembly election in the state was in 1978, when CPI leader Batuk Vora bagged the Palitana seat in Bhavnagar district. But this has not deterred CPM candidate Arun Mehta from contesting from Bhavnagar North, where elections were held in the first phase on December 11. He is the only Left candidate in the fray.

Son of leading Communist leaders Subodh and Niru Mehta, what keeps Mehta going is the loyalty of some 25,000 dedicated voters. However, contesting for the fifth time, he says things are a little different now. The Congress, which has been losing this urban seat to the BJP for 17 years, has backed CPM.

Mehta, a former councillor of Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation and a lawyer who took part in the Navnirman Andolan, feels he has two reasons to look for a brighter prospect. One: with the Congress out of the contest, he hopes to consolidate the minority and Dalit votes, which collectively add up to over 40,000 in a constituency of 2 lakh voters. Two: he senses an anti-Modi undercurrent among the middle class.

8220;Even Jyoti Basu had started alone. I do not mind the struggle. My aim is not to become an MLA but stand for an ideology,8221; says this member of the CPM Central Committee. Citing examples of two agitations 8212; Navnirman Andolan and Maha Gujarat Andolan 8212; that changed the political history of Gujarat, he adds, 8220;People here are very conscious and they react to the call when change is needed.8221;

He is hopeful, especially for Bhavnagar region, which has produced most of the Communist leaders of Gujarat 8212; Batuk Vora, Chabildas Mehta, Sanat Mehta and his parents. 8220;Don8217;t forget that Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation always has 3-4 Left councillors,8221; he says. The CPM had won the Bhavnagar Nagarpalika polls in 1969 and his mother became the Mayor in 1971.

Though he has been running a school for slum dwellers in Ranika, Kachilaya and Sandhiya, which were affected by the riots, he could not enter the area with the banner of CPM during the 2002 elections. 8220;The voters were polarised,8221; he says. This time, he says, he has been able to concentrate on these areas, with mixed populations of Kolis, Bharwads and Muslims.

7,261 8216;sensitive8217; booths

GANDHINAGAR: The Election Commission has identified as many as 7,261 polling booths as 8220;sensitive8221; and 8220;hypersensitive8221; in central and north Gujarat, where the final phase of Assembly polls will be held on Sunday. Among the 11 districts that go to the polls, Ahmedabad accounts for the highest number of 8220;sensitive8221; booths at 1,610, while Vadodara tops the list of 8220;hypersensitive8221; booths as 350.