Ahead of the two-phase Gujarat Assembly polls on December 9 and 14, Rahul Gandhi has just turned the heat on. The Congress vice-president has launched a social media campaign-‘Gujarat Mangaye Jawab’ (Gujarat seeks answers) wherein he’ll ask PM Narendra Modi one question every day.
The first salvo was fired on Wednesday when Rahul tweeted “22 salon ka hisaab, Gujarat mange jawaab. Gujarat ke halaat par pradhan mantri ji se pehla sawaal: 2012 main vada kiya ki 50 lakh naye ghar denge. 5 saal main banaye 4.72 lakh ghar. Pradhan mantri ji bataiye ki kya ye vada pura hone mein 45 saal aur lagenge”.
22 सालों का हिसाब,
गुजरात मांगे जवाब।गुजरात के हालात पर प्रधानमंत्रीजी से पहला सवाल:
2012 में वादा किया कि 50 लाख नए घर देंगे।
5 साल में बनाए 4.72 लाख घर।प्रधानमंत्रीजी बताइए कि क्या ये वादा पूरा होने में 45 साल और लगेंगे?
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 29, 2017
THE CHALLENGE AHEAD
Gujarat is the political petri dish of what many commentators are calling a ‘new’ Rahul or Rahul 2.0. Congress is on the verge of being wiped out as a political force on the national stage. Rahul has to stem his party’s steady slide into being a bit player.
And in Gujarat he has his job cut out. The state has been under BJP rule since 1995. The saffron party has kept its stranglehold over the state with seats ranging from 116-127 (1995-2012 Assembly polls) while the Congress managed a poor 45-60 seats in the same period.
Congress is banking on anti-incumbency, a tie up with various disgruntled elements in the state (Hardik Patel of the Patidar community, Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani and OBC boss Alpesh Thakor) and the disastrous effect of demonetisation and GST on small businesses.
SOCIAL MEDIA SMARTS
Congress has increasingly focused on Gujarat’s social indicators. An earlier social media campaign–‘Vikas gando thayo chhe’ (development has gone crazy)-had gone viral. ‘Gujarat Mangaye Jawab’ comes from the same strategic thinking.In the backdrop of BJP president Amit Shah’s son Ajay Shah under scrutiny over alleged sweetheart deals, Modi’s famed anti-corruption slogan “Na khaunga, na khane dunga” has also come under ridicule; Rahul was quick to tweet “Mitron, Shah-zade ke baare mein na bolunga, na bolne doonga”.
A willingness to get dirty in the political akhada, quick to use social media for sharp tweets and reaching out to would-be allies…many pundits will agree that Rahul is on the right track. But will it be enough to trample the lotus in Modi’s backyard?
India today
