Race wide open

Gujarat has been a BJP stronghold for long, but this time the party is losing ground to the Congress

The Election Commission must ensure a level playing field for all parties in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls. Now that the election dates have been announced, no-holds-barred campaigns by parties will begin.

The Assembly elections will consume political interest almost entirely at the end of the year and likely have countrywide repercussions. Despite the opinion polls predicting a huge win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the race is wide open. 

The purpose of broadcasting opinion polls held weeks ago is not easy to comprehend when the situation on the ground is changing fast. The fact is that demonetisation and the goods