Gujarat Assembly elections 2017: Congress tries hard to pick up the pieces

State party heads say they are working in tandem with the high command on basics but it remains to be seen if this is adequate

A year earlier, Rahul Gandhi squarely asked his Gujarat leaders what the problem with the Congress in the state was. He was, he told them, privy to feedback before the Gujarat elections of 2007 and 2012 that the party had “popular goodwill” and a “fairly strong chance” of unseating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was routed both times.
 
The Gujarat brass’ conclusion was that their candidates fought the election on their own, without support of the Delhi “high command” or state leaders. As a result, the micro management the BJP had honed to an exemplary  skill was missing.