Operation Ironman

When the Congress holds its Manthan Shivir in Dwarka, Gujarat, next month, one issue that will exercise the minds of the participants will be identifying a giant killer. With general elections looming, the party wants to tick-mark candidates who can win the Lok Sabha seats in the state. While Congress leaders concede they are yet to find winning candidates for at least seven constituencies, it is Gandhinagar that is topmost on their list. The party wants to make it “really tough” for seat holder and BJP presumptive prime minister L K Advani. It fielded former Chief Election Commission T N Seshan against him in 1999, but his presence only added to the fun around the campaigning without affecting the result. It then put up Gabhaji Thakore in 2004 with no change in the trend. But while they are strategising Advani’s defeat, some Congress leaders themselves say the BJP leader might shift from Gandhinagar to Amreli. Now, that would really spoil the Congress’ calculations—or would it?