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Though the heavy rains in Gujarat have severely affected the poll campaigns of both the BJP and Congress, the parties feel that it would not prove to be a dampener for voter turn out on September 13. This by-elections are also seen as a test for new chief minister of the state Anandiben Patel as party leader. She had kicked off elections campaign from Khambhalia in Jamnagar but had to cut it short after couple of public addresses because of the heavy rains in the state.
Patel during her public addresses had sought victory in all the 10 seats as gift for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be in Gujarat on September 16, the day when results for the by-polls are announced . Modi will also be celebrating his 64th birthday on September 17, along with Chinese President Xi Jinping who will be visiting Gujarat for few hours on that day.
By-elections for nine assembly seats and one parliamentary seats in Gujarat will be conducted on September 13 along with 24 other assembly and two parliamentary seats across the country. The assembly seats where the by-polls will be held include Anand, Limkheda (Dahod), Deesa (Banaskantha), Matar (Kheda), Maninagar (Ahmedabad), Talaja (Bhavnagar), Tankara (Rajkot), Khambhalia (Jamnagar) and Mangrol (Junagadh). While by-election for Vadodara parliamentary seat will also be held on the same day.
According BJP candidate from Vadodara Lok Sabha seat Ranjan Bhatt, who is also a sitting corporate of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), despite floods in the city people will come out in huge numbers to vote. She said that her party’s booth level workers have been active in all the areas of the constituency and have spread the message of party among the people. "There will hardly be any impact on voter turnout as the water in the city have receded and cleaning work is going on in full swing," Bhatt said, adding that only 10-12 per cent of the Vadodara parliamentary seat were affected.
Besides being a stronghold for the party, BJP wants a big margin victory in Vadodara as it is Modi's seat. "We expect victory with a big margin, but it will depend on how many people turn out to vote on Saturday," Bhatt said. She is also confident that the rescue and relief work done by her and her party workers during the recent floods in the city will give her additional advantage.
However, Congress candidate from Vadodara, Narendra Rawat believe people of city are very dissatisfied with the BJP. He gave example of the recent floods which he claimed was a man-made disaster rather than a natural calamity. "There was no rain in the city, but the floods were result of utter mismanagement of the city administration. The water was not released from Ajwa dam in phased manner because the chief minister wanted to perform 'puja' at Vishwamitri river. This has resulted in floods," Rawat alleged. He is confident that people will vote against the ruling BJP during the by-elections. "This elections will be a barometer for Modi popularity in Vadodara. People are angry with Modi for leaving this seat and they will definitely vote against him," he added.
Similarly, for Modi's Maninagar assembly seat, that he had held for over a decade, BJP wants a huge victory margin and are counting on sitting corporator of Maninagar's Indrapuri ward Suresh Patel who has been fielded by the party against Congress's Jatin Kella an advocate by profession. Because of rains the election campaign was affected said, Suresh Patel, adding that his party workers were working hard to bring voters to the polling booths because it was Modi's seat.
Though the Congress acknowledges that all 10 seats were held by BJP, it hopes to make a dent in the BJP bastions. "We will give a neck to neck competition in all seats," said Congress president Arjun Modhwadia. "It is true that BJP has stronghold in all the seats, but we will try and open our account in these seats during the by-polls," he added. He too believes that voter turnout was less likely to be affected because of the rains in many parts of the state.
