An aggressive campaign by both the major political parties for the elections to municipalities and the district and taluka panchayats in Gujarat ended today.
While the polling for 31 district panchayats, 230 taluka panchayats and 56 municipalities will take place on November 29, the votes will be counted on December 2.
Chief Minister Anandiben Patel led BJP's campaign by holding rallies and roadshows in various parts of the state, while the Congress leaders relied on comparatively smaller public gatherings to woo the rural voters.
The tacit support of Patel community, which is angry with the BJP government over the arrest of quota agitation leader Hardik Patel and his associates, has buoyed Congress' hopes.
The Chief Minister and other BJP leaders faced the wrath of the Patel community during the campaign. In Mehsana and Viramgam, community members, including a large number of women, took to the road to protest against BJP for the alleged police atrocities.
However, Congress spokesperson claimed that BJP was facing some other adverse factors too. "There are many factors which will go against BJP this time, and the Patel factor is the last among them. Major issue is the minimum support prices
Of cotton, groundnut and sugarcane. BJP government has failed to provide sustainable MSP which has left millions of farmers angry," said the Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.
"Apart from that, people in rural areas have realised that they were fooled by the BJP government on development claims, as people still do not have electricity, schools, health services and employment. We believe that Congress will win 70 per cent of the seats," Doshi said.
However, BJP said its development agenda still works.
"Congress always indulged in vote-bank politics and kept rural people away from development. That is why people of Gujarat have rejected them several times....This time too people will put their faith in us," said Gujarat BJP spokesperson I K Jadeja.
