Cong does a Phoenix

Party ups tally; Infighting, lack of Sangh support cost BJP dear

The Congress party, which was almost written off before the general elections, made a forceful dent in the BJP bastion, Gujarat, by more than doubling its tally in the state.

Even as BJP stalwarts L K Advani and Kashiram Rana retained their seats, Union minister of state for Tourism Bhavna Chikhaliya lost the Junagadh seat.

And while the verdict send the BJP leaders scurrying for cover, celebrations were witnessed at the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee as the state party leaders claimed a verdict in favour of Congress policies.

Of the 26 seats, BJP bagged 14 and Congress 12.

Given that the BJP held 21 seats and Congress just five in the previous polls, the election result has come as a major setback for the BJP, more so, as Gujarat is considered one of the safest state for the party.

While the BJP won the prestigious Gandhinagar seat, along with the Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat seats, Congress held on to the Kapadvanj, Kheda and Sabarkantha seats, while it lost the Surendranagar and Patan seats that it held in the previous elections.

However, Congress bounced back strong, wresting nine seats from BJP.

Some BJP leaders, requesting anonymity, said factionalism in the party played the spoilsport.

Three separate factions led by the chief minister Narendra Modi, state party president Rajendrasinh Rana and former chief minister Keshubhai Patel learnt to have worked against each other ahead of the polling.

One crucial factor that could have played a significant role in determining the final outcome was the fact that the Narendra Modi government had alienated the farming community by hiking electricity tariff.

Another likely factor is lack of sufficient support from Sangh groups, mainly RSS.

Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president B K Gadhvi said the Sonia Gandhi factor was perhaps the most important in ensuring the excellent performance of the party.

"Sonia's campaign in south Gujarat, followed by her public meetings in Saurashtra and north Gujarat, really galvanised the party workers and ensured our victory," Gadhvi said.

Gadhvi said Congress could have won four more seats "" Vadodara, Patan, Porbander and Surendranagar.

"We lost by reasonably small margins here," he said.

Asked if the state Congress unit will press for dismissal of the Narendra Modi government in case a Congress-led government took over in Delhi, Gadhvi said, "The state unit will not press for this. Narendra Modi should rather quit on moral grounds."

After the Supreme Court verdict on transferring the Best Bakery case outside Gujarat, where the Narendra Modi government was also sharply criticised, the state Congress had sought dismissal of the government.