We'll get two-thirds majority in Gujarat: GPCC chief

The AAP is the B-Team of the BJP. It is not a political voting factor in Gujarat

In a do-or-die election year, the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) is upbeat about getting a two-thirds majority in the state Assembly elections. Bharatsinh Solanki, GPCC chief and son of former Gujarat chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki, tells Sohini Das the party’s 2017 strategy is not only to reconnect with the Patidars, but also to get at least 50 per cent of the urban seats, an area where the party had fallen flat in the last Assembly elections.

Just before the Assembly elections, the recent civic polls results have not been very encouraging. Your comments?

We were expecting fairly good results, but that did not happen. In every booth more than 100 voters were deleted. That was one part. We still did better than past results in corporation elections, in terms of the number of votes and the number of seats that we won. But it was not good enough to form corporation mayor. At the district panchayat level we have done well. We won in 24 district panchayats.

How are you planning to win back the Patidar vote, which has now gone anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)?

We are concentrating on issues surrounding farmers, education, corruption, law and order, women, atrocities, price hike. Right now we are focusing on Naliya (referring to the recent gang rape case). It is a gross and organised crime that occurred in Kutch; we are taking out a rally and will also gherao the Assembly when the state Budget is tabled. We will definitely win back the Patidar vote bank; they are now anti-BJP. They are not going to forget the atrocities unleashed on them easily. We are going to take up the cause of the Patidars; we have called for 20 per cent reservation and when we come to power we will have a judicial inquiry into the mishandling of the Patidar agitation.

Hardik Patel is now the face of the Shiv Sena in Mumbai. Do you see the Sena entering Gujarat through Patel?

After the results of the five states, the Shiv Sena may want to enter Gujarat, but here they would not have that grassroots connect. Patel is intelligent enough where to go; he wants to defeat the BJP and dislodge its government; the Congress is the only alternative.

What about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat?

The AAP is the B-Team of the BJP. It is not a political voting factor. The party doesn’t have real grassroots connect. My belief is after the elections in five states, especially Goa and Punjab, the AAP is fighting only where there is BJP presence. They want to divide the anti-BJP vote. Amit Shah is indirectly funding the AAP.

What was your vote share last time, and what is the target this time?

We had 34 per cent vote share last time (Assembly elections 2012), and they (the BJP) had 41 per cent — the difference is not too great. Now there is anti-incumbency, the BJP’s main leader is gone from Gujarat, and there is also a lot of discontent within the party, no administration, no grip on organisation… BJP workers are demoralised. They are not aggressively countering our programmes.

Basically, no great populist measures, but it is not working in their favour. People don’t trust them.

It is a rubber stamp chief minister here. Shah is the whole and soul (of the party). After they lose badly in the five states, Shah would come back to Gujarat. Then Gujarat will have a fourth CM and the last CM. This year is a challenge for us, and also an opportunity. Demonetisation has created a lot of unemployment, unrest and the peace of the people is gone.

What do Gujaratis want, what could be election planks this time around?

The Gujarati youth want education and employment; farmers are concerned about minimum support price, and about getting diesel and power at reasonable rates; in urban areas traffic is a major problem and so is pollution; education is expensive as well as health.

You did well in the rural areas last time. How do you plan to win the urban seats?

We won only four out of 68 seats in the urban areas last time. So, we have to increase our share to at least 50 per cent in the urban areas. We are targeting 34 seats this time. We will sweep the rural areas, barring a few seats. We won 57 seats in those areas last time. Gujarat is a crucible of saffronisation and a polarised state. Bringing the state out of that took a lot of time. Our issues this time are demonetisation and Naliya, which is taking people away from this saffronisation agenda. Vibrant Gujarat was a total failure, and now that social media is strong, people are more aware. Earlier, whatever Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) would say, people would believe, without verifying figures. We are clear: we will target the youth and women. We have started programmes along with NGOs, taking the Congress ideology to people.  

How critical will the Other Backward Classes (OBC) vote be here?

The OBC share is almost 40 per cent. We will target all sections of the population. Booth management would be a key area this time; the second would be cluster effect. We will form around 20 clusters, where we can win 8-10 seats in the vicinity. We will focus on these clusters more. We have compiled a programme where we have the booth situation for Congress voters and fence sitters. We will try to woo the fence sitters through our programme. In urban areas, polarisation was a strong issue. But, now traders are disillusioned with the BJP. They were strongly against Modi and the BJP thanks to demonetisation; they are going to play a big role this time.

Will you go into the elections with a clear CM candidate?

It is my party high command’s prerogative. When people choose an Assembly member they want to know at the same time who their leader is: whether he is able administratively, whether he has charisma and a vision for Gujarat.

How are you working to revive and organise the party at the grassroots level? What are your plans for using social media?

I am moving to districts, talking to block presidents, and then to villages and then to booths. In one booth we have 15 workers; we will have a training camp of those workers for voting, etc. We will not allow any malpractices in the elections this time. We already have a professional team for handling social media. No doubt we cannot spend as much money as the BJP is spending. Our information technology cell and other young people have got together; we will work it out. We will carry out multiple strikes. We will start the campaign on March 1. We have 1,500 applications from candidates, we are sorting that out. We also have the names of booth-level workers. Within a month we will have a screening committee, so the partial process of selecting candidates would take place.

If you miss the bus this time, will it be the end of the road for the Congress in Gujarat?

We will not miss the bus this time. We will have two-thirds majority, we will not merely win. Whenever I give public speeches, I say: 2015 - zila panchayat; 2017 - Gandhinagar; and 2019 - Delhi.