With the Election Commission of India announcing the schedule for Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022, the stage is set for a tripartite contest between the ruling BJP, Congress and new entrant AAP in the state. Like last year, polling will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. Counting of votes will be on December 8. Polling will be held in 89 constituencies in the first phase and in 93 constituencies in the second phase.
Amit Shah’s Statement
On the entry of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat and the tripartite elections in the state, Shah said it was done in the past but did not work. He asserted that the BJP would get more than 50% votes.
Kejriwal’s Statement
“In Gujarat, an attempt was made to do a triangle (three-way election). First, Chimanbhai Patel tried to do it by forming a party. He failed and had to finish. After that, Shankarsinh Vaghela formed a party but failed. Keshubhai Patel also Tried but failed. If we get more than 50% votes, it doesn’t matter where the votes go. We will get more than 50%,” Kejriwal said.
Amit Shah’s prediction
Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissed the AAP’s challenge in the Gujarat elections, claiming that Arvind Kejriwal’s party could not even open its account, and said the announcement of formation of anti-radicalization cell by the BJP state unit was a good initiative that could be considered by other states and the Centre.
In an interview to PTI, Shah cited the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the all-round development of Gujarat during his tenure as the chief minister of the state and the implementation of the zero appeasement policy as the main reasons why people have repeatedly trusted the BJP. 27 years.
BJP will get an unprecedented victory in Gujarat. People have full confidence in our party and our leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Shah, who has crisscrossed the state and addressed five rallies a day in the run-up to the two-phase elections on December 1 and 5.
On the question of AAP’s entry in the Gujarat Assembly elections, the BJP leader said, every party has the right to contest the elections, but it depends on the people whether they accept the party or not.
About the Congress, Shah said, it is still the main opposition party, but the party is going through a crisis, and its effects are visible in Gujarat as well.
When asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, Shah said sustained effort is essential in politics.
He said, “I always think that politicians should be hardworking and it is good when one works hard. But in politics only sustained efforts show results. So let’s wait and see.”
Shah, who has talked about national security issues in the state election campaign, said they are important in every assembly election.
Security of Gujarat and national security are not separate issues. And if the country is not secure, how will Gujarat be secure? Hence, national security is a major issue in all state assembly elections.
“Being a border state, the people of Gujarat are sensitive about national security. We cannot afford to affect national security at any point in the country,” he said to a question.
While the opposition often accuses the government of misusing investigative agencies against its political rivals, Shah said the country has an independent and impartial judiciary and “if there is any misuse of investigative agencies, they can go to the judiciary”.
Shah, who has been raising law and order issues in his campaign speeches, described the end of lawlessness as one of the achievements of the BJP government in Gujarat.
The former BJP president described the party’s election promise to form a radicalization cell as a good initiative and said that any organization like PFI that pushes youth towards terrorism will not be tolerated.
He said the Popular Front of India (PFI) was banned after due diligence and several states demanded it.
The Modi government decided to ban PFI after gathering a lot of information and evidence related to their anti-national activities, especially for their activities of radicalizing youth and pushing them towards terrorism.
“And several states have demanded a ban on PFIs. Such activities of any organization will not be tolerated in the Modi government, Shah told PTI.
Whether the BJP’s announcement in the manifesto to set up an anti-radicalisation cell in Gujarat will be implemented in other states, Shah said it was a good initiative. Let it be implemented first (here). It will be given legal shape and its procedures will be determined.
He said extremism should be checked not only in Gujarat but in the whole country.
And this (Anti-Radicalization Cell) can be considered at national level and in other states. Fundamentalism has nothing to do with any community, but we all know what forces are fueling radicalism. And the whole world is concerned about it, says Shah.
When asked about issues like inflation affecting elections, the Union Home Minister said countries across the world are facing this problem, and India is the least affected among them.
The post-Covid slowdown was a global challenge but still the Indian economy witnessed a V-shaped recovery. Similarly, I also believe that India will tackle inflation very effectively, which is a challenge for countries around the world. And today, the country’s social life is least affected by inflation, Shah said.
On whether Bhupendra Patel will continue as Chief Minister if the BJP wins again, Shah said he is doing good work and taking forward all the initiatives started by Prime Minister Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Responding to a question about all the regional parties coming together with the national parties to counter the BJP, Shah suggested that they would not stand anywhere in the face of PM Modi’s popularity.
Looking at the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government he has given in the last eight years, I don’t think such an alliance will have any impact. And these regional parties have nothing outside their respective states.
“A regional team has nothing in another state. Ultimately, it will be a one-on-one battle. And such alliances are only on paper and good for titles.
Discussing the BJP’s expansion in southern and eastern states, Shah said the party’s vote share in West Bengal has increased to 40 percent and it has won 18 Lok Sabha seats. He claimed that the BJP would improve its tally in West Bengal in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In Telangana, the BJP “became the main opposition party”. The party is doing well in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, Shah said, adding that expansion of cadre-based parties is not possible overnight. “It takes time, but we’re doing well in these states,” he said.
Gujrat’s Final Opinion Poll
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to create history by winning a seventh consecutive term in Gujarat, says a final opinion poll ahead of the state’s first-phase polls on December 1. An IndiaTV-Matrix opinion poll released on Monday (November 28) predicted that the BJP would do better in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections than in the 2022 elections. According to opinion polls, the BJP is likely to get a comfortable majority in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly with 117 seats, while the Congress is likely to win 59 seats, AAP 4 seats and others 2 seats. In 2017, the saffron party won 99 seats, while the Congress won 77. In terms of vote percentage, BJP could get 49.9 percent, Congress 39.1 percent, AAP 7.5 percent and others 3.5 percent.