Confident of winning Gujarat Polls: Rahul Gandhi

AHMEDABAD: Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that as Congress president his priority would be to strengthen the party and to change the political discourse . I would also like to change the discourse of politics. It has become nasty ugly and there is a lot of anger and angst. We want to do politics of love and compassion Gandhi said. Addressing the media here on the last day of campaign for the second and the last phase of Gujarat elections Gandhi expressed confidence that Congress would win in Gujarat and said that he had expected a tougher fight from BJP. Pointing out that Congress stuck to its narrative of unemployment issues relating to farmers youth health and education in Gujarat Gandhi noted that BJP wavered from Narmada to OBC and for last couple of days Modiji spoke only about himself and Congress if you have noticed . Usually those who keep their narrative intact win elections Gandhi observed adding that BJP in Gujarat could not play on its narrative. There is a hollowness in BJP Gandhi said. And Gujarat has understood it he added. Reacting to a question on Mani Shankar Aiyar Gandhi said while his stand on such utterances has already been displayed through his action the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attacked former prime minister Manmohan Singh is not acceptable. When asked about his repeated temple visits in the state Gandhi quipped: Is there a ban on visiting temples? Earlier I had gone to Kedarnath. Is Kedarnath in Gujarat? This is BJP s propaganda against me. Written by Syed Khalique Ahmed | Ahmedabad | Updated: December 13 2017 7:51 am Gujarat Assembly election 2017: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad. (Express photo/ Javed Raja) Related News Gujarat Assembly elections: Congress hopes for 2017 chemistry but it faces an uphill 2012 arithmeticPrime Minister wraps up: Reply to Opposition lies take Gujarat to new heightsGujarat Assembly elections: I hereby declare Pankajbhai Chimanbhai PatelAs the Gujarat poll campaign drew to an end on Tuesday Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi claimed that there was a zabardast (tremendous) undercurrent against the BJP and the results would be zabardast. Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi Rahul said: Modiji pehle corruption par bolte thay lekin jab Jay Shah ka mamla aya Rafale jet ka mamla aya toh corruption par bolna bandh kar diya (Modiji used to talk about corruption. But ever since the Jay Shah and Rafale jet issues surfaced he has stopped talking about corruption). Addressing a press conference here he said Modi has also stopped talking about education hospitals and farmers issues. Yeh mood mein change sirf Modi mein hi nahin hai. Yeh Rupani mein bhi hai aur poori BJP mein hai (It is not just Modi who has undergone this change in mood. There is a change in mood in Rupani too and the entire BJP) he said. Read | Gujarat Assembly elections: 34 rallies by PM Modi 30 by Rahul Gandhi plus his 12 temple visits Mood yahan par bilkul badla hua hai zabardast undercurrent hai. Dekhna yahan par zabardast badlav aane wala hai. Result zabardast aane wala hai. BJP ghabaraee huyee hai yeh pehli baar dekha hai ki sabhi agitation par hain Patidar OBC Adivasi Dalit kisan sab agitation par hain Political mahaul bilkul badla hua hai. Aur mujhe vishwas hai ki hum jitenge (There is a complete change in mood there is a tremendous undercurrent. A tremendous change is about to come. The result will be tremendous The BJP is worried for the first time everyone is agitating. Patidar OBC Adivasi Dalit farmers everyone has launched an agitation There is a change in the political atmosphere. And I am confident that we will win) said Rahul. He said the Congress for the first time in 22 years had realised its strength in Gujarat. Congress party ek saath khadi ho gayee hai united hai aur BJP ko challenge kar rahi hai (The Congress party has stood up together is united and has challenged the BJP) he said. Even the BJP has accepted that the Congress is fighting the elections with full strength and a good strategy. He said the winter session of Parliament was delayed this year because Modi was afraid of discussions on Jay Shah and the Rafale deal. But the people of Gujarat are very intelligent. They understand everything. They know why the BJP is not talking about corruption and farmers issues he said. Read | Prime Minister wraps up: Reply to Opposition lies take Gujarat to new heights Stating that elections are fought on certain basic issues and political narratives Rahul said: A party whose narrative does not change and remains consistent wins the elections. But if you look at the BJP they were not able to maintain their narrative and frequently changed it from Narmada to development to OBC to corruption etc. Responding to a question on Mani Shanker Aiyar s use of the word neech while referring to Modi Rahul said he had made his position clear through words as well as action . I have made it clear through my action that I am not going to tolerate the way he spoke about Modi because Modi is the Prime Minister. But Modi s comments about Manmohan Singh are also not acceptable. He (Manmohan) was the Prime Minister he has also worked and sacrificed for the country said Rahul. Read | Gujarat Assembly elections: Congress hopes for 2017 chemistry but it faces an uphill 2012 arithmetic Modiji is my political opponent He has been using offensive language against me. Lekin mere muh se un ke baare mein koi galat shabd nahin niklega (But I will not utter any offensive word against him) said Rahul. I want to change the nature of political discourse in the country. It has become nasty ugly. I want to do politics with love he said. Asked about his temple visits he visited the Jagannath temple at Jamalpur in Ahmedabad on Tuesday Rahul said he also went to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand. It is the BJP s story that I visited temples in Gujarat only. On my political tour of Gujarat wherever I got a chance I visited temples. I felt very happy. I prayed for a golden future for Gujarat and its people for better development he said. Also Read | Gujarat Assembly elections: Where Hardik Patel lives BJP fingers crossed While he did not respond to questions on Modi s allegation about Pakistan s involvement in the Gujarat elections Rahul directed a question on the Patidar quota issue to state party president Bharatsinh Solanki. Asked about Modi s flight in a seaplane Rahul said: It is good. If he wants he can fly in a seaplane. But the issue is elections in Gujarat. The main issue is not seaplanes. It is a distraction The main issue is what the BJP has done for Gujarat in 22 years. Are there doctors in hospitals? Are there schools and colleges for the poor? Modi should speak on Jay Shah and Rafale deal. Rahul alleged that under the BJP Gujarat has seen one-sided development . Only 5-10 people have benefitted during 22 years of Modi-Rupani rule the common man has got nothing. Over 90 per cent of colleges are in the private sector. You have to pay Rs 10-15 lakh to get admission in engineering and medical colleges. A poor or middle-class student can t dream of becoming an engineer or doctor he said. Terming demonetisation and GST as irrational economic policy he said the Congress if elected would waive farm loans raise the minimum support price(MSP) of agriculture produce appoint doctors and nurses in government hospitals and help youth in education and employment. We will take all decisions by consulting the people of Gujarat. We will not take any unilateral decision he said. For all the latest Elections News download Indian Express App More Related News Gujarat Assembly elections: Turnout falls in Surat s Patel seats Muslim-majority booths Gujarat Assembly elections: In tribal seat of Bhiloda contituency BJP pitches local ex-cop vs longtime MLA Tags: Gujarat Assembly Elections 2017 Narendra Modi Rahul Gandhi New Delhi: Beating drums fireworks and flowers were part of Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi s grand welcome at his Tughlaq Lane residence after he arrived in Delhi on Tuesday evening after the conclusion of his party s campaign in Gujarat where elections are currently underway.Along with a huge gathering of party workers and supporters the outgoing president of the party Sonia Gandhi was also present to welcome her son after his elevation to the top post.Rahul Gandhi who will take over as Congress boss later this week was campaigning in Gujarat when the Congress had made his election official on Monday. The two-hour-long celebration outside his residence included party workers dancing and distributing sweets to welcome home their newly elected leader. In attendance were some members of the party including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken leaders of the Youth Congress National Students Union of India (NSUI) and Mahila Congress. Celebrations outside Rahul Gandhi s Delhi residenceRahul Gandhi will take over as Congress president from his mother Sonia Gandhi in a ceremony on the lawns of the party s 24 Akbar Road headquarters in Delhi after he was elected unopposed. The 47-year-old will be the fifth person from the family to head the oldest political party.The Congress had asserted that Rahul Gandhi had earned the party s top post dismissing allegations that the election was a sham.Hours after his election Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated Mr Gandhi on Monday wishing him a fruitful tenure. Congress party members welcome Congress president-elect Rahul GandhiRahul Gandhi was elevated as the party s vice president in January 2013 and has since then operated as the party s number 2. (With inputs from PTI) KOLKATA: West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Adhir Chowdhury today said Rahul Gandhi will play a pivotal role in forging new political dynamics ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Gandhi was elected the Congress president yesterday. This is indeed a historic moment for all Congress workers... He will be play a pivotal and catalytic role in forging new political dynamics with distinctive narratives ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls Chowdhury said. Congress workers in various parts of the state celebrated Gandhi s elevation by distributing sweets and smearing each other s faces with gulal . Gandhi will take over the reins of the party from his mother Sonia Gandhi who steered it through success and failure for 19 years the longest in the party s 132-year history on December 16. Leader of Opposition in state Assembly and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan had yesterday said the party will attain new heights under Rahul Gandhi s leadership. We congratulate Rahul Gandhi for being elected as our party president. We are confident that he will infuse new energy into the party and under his leadership Congress will attain new heights Mannan told PTI. Mannan also hoped that under his guidance Congress would put up a strong fight against the onslaught of BJP-RSS and will preserve the country s democratic and secular tradition. Gandhinagar: Nana Patole who recently resigned from Lok Sabha and the BJP shared stage with Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi on Monday at election rally in Gandhinagar and fulminated against Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming he abused senior MPs who had once gone to meet him.Addressing the rally Mr Patole said he decided to part ways with the BJP because PM Modi failed to address the issues of farmers and went back on his promise to implement the Swaminathan Commission recommendations.The former MP from Maharashtra s Bhandara-Gondia constituency also alleged that PM Modi snubbed him and abused elderly MPs who once went to meet him at his residence. It has been more than three years since the Modi government has been at the Centre. Modiji had assured that he will implement the Swaminathan Commission recommendations but the first thing he did was to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying he will not accept the recommendations which amounts to betrayal of farmers Mr Patole said.There has been a rise in incidents of farmer suicide he alleged. Once Modiji called a meeting of MPs from different states at his residence before the winter session of Parliament. When some elderly MPs rose to ask him questions he abused them and asked them to sit down. He also shouted at me when I asked him about a separate ministry for OBCs he claimed.Mr Patole accused PM Modi of playing the OBC card for political gains. He alleged the prime minister was playing with the future of children of OBC SC and ST categories by stopping their scholarships.Mr Patole who had defeated NCP stalwart Praful Patel in the last Lok Sabha poll claimed notes ban was the biggest instance of corruption. Ahmedabad: Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi should disclose if former prime minister Manmohan Singh met a Pakistani delegation earlier this month after informing him. He also asked whether Singh had consulted the Ministry of External Affairs on the same.The Union law minister also wanted to know the Congress stand on the proposed triple talaq law and asked Gandhi whether a Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya. When we have a national line that India will not talk to Pakistan until the latter abandons terrorism why did former prime minister Manmohan Singh go to meet a Pakistani delegation? Prasad told reporters in Ahmedabad.He said in 2007 in Havana when Singh was the prime minister a joint statement had said that Pakistan was also a victim of terrorism when everyone knew that Pakistan was not a victim but a sponsor of terrorism .He recalled that in Sharm El Sheikh joint declaration in 2010 Balochistan was referred to and it said India had a hand in the disturbance there.File image of Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. PTI In this light if a question is asked why Singh met Pakistani delegation when the country s line on talks with the neighbouring country is clear what is wrong with it (in questioning the meeting) Prasad said. The BJP would like to know if Manmohan Singh went to meet the Pakistani delegation with the presence of high commissioner of that country with due consultation with the external affairs ministry and with due information to Rahul Gandhi he said.Gandhi has till today not answered this question the BJP leader said.Earlier in the day Gandhi had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi s insinuations about the meeting with Pakistani delegation that Singh attended were unacceptable .While Modi had suggested that Singh and some other Congress leaders colluded with Pakistan which he claimed was trying to influence the Gujarat polls the former prime minister responded by saying that Modi was setting a dangerous precedent and should apologise to the nation.Modi had said at an election rally that some Pakistani officials and Singh met at now suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar s house over dinner on 6 December.On Gandhi s visits to various temples in Gujarat Prasad asked why he didn t go to the Ram Janambhoomi (in Ayodhya) or the Krishna Janambhoomi during the Uttar Pradesh election campaign. You are a Shiv Bhakt that s good but what about Ram Bhakti? You should make clear your stand on Ram Mandir whether a Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya or not Prasad said.He also wanted to know Congress s stand on triple talaq. We are in the process of framing a law on triple talaq. Does the Congress support the proposed law on triple talaq? he asked. Hyderabad: When the late Dr YS Rajashekhara Reddy (YSR) decided to take up the agrarian crisis brewing in the-then combined state of Andhra Pradesh as the primal issue against the rapidly consolidating halo and brand of Nara Chandrababu Naidu in the 1999 elections he thought he had besides history on his side a winning issue.The worsening crisis had been ubiquitous across regions and distress indicated most predominantly by rising suicides of farmers unable to repay private lender loans during a sustained drought and yet it did not seem like a winning political issue.File image of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. AFPThe Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had since its formation in 1982 made history by sweeping elections within nine months of its formation but had never retained power for a second term in Andhra Pradesh like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre in India. The TDP was betting on retaining power for a consecutive term based on a single factor the brand image of Naidu; like BJP would rely on Brand Modi in 2019 against a populist free-power promise of YSR.YSR lost and Naidu won in 1999 aided by an added factor of being an important partner of the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA Kargil War victory nuclear tests and a general pro-NDA mood prevalent across India before the turn of the millennium.Parallels between Naidu and ModiThere may be little similarity between Naidu s coup against matinee-idol and founder of TDP late NT Rama Rao after the patriarch brought his party in power in the 1994 elections against the Congress and a fair open manner of the internal takeover of Modi within BJP in 2013 wherein he took responsibility and led the party to an unprecedented victory.Naidu stole power whereas Modi earned it. But thereafter Brand Modi which has enamoured the country so much leading to massive returns in 2014 elections and subsequently is eerily similar to the erstwhile Brand Naidu.One might think the Rajdeep Sardesai-Arnab Goswami tale we recently heard of one scribe usurping and internalising professional experiences and key features of someone else s curriculum vitae might be more widespread and prevalent in politics as well. Modi perhaps deeply analysed understood and acquired Brand Naidu and initiatives approach modified it for a pan-Indian appeal and added it as a sheen over his nationalist-Hindutva core.The big challenge ahead for Rahul Gandhi and his tattering Congress no matter what the final results of the Gujarat polls are on 18 December is this Brand Modi; that which defeats the Congress even before the polls in their very minds; as indeed Naidu was then a difficult force to face up to in the adversary s own head.Naidu pioneered a mega vision approach working with McKinsey to launch the Vision 2020. He launched Janmabhoomi programs wherein he encouraged celebrities from all walks of life to clean yes clean streets and local areas using brooms and harnessed photo-ops to great impact.The File Clearance Week pushed the focus on how bureaucracy was stalling files and put a focus on it. Clear and Green was voluntary cleanliness by another name. Biometric attendance and login made offices look efficient like never before. Prajala Vadaki Pallana took the administration to people where petitions complaints and concerns were heard and cleared on the spot. Tree plantation water harvesting computers for efficiency start-ups sports fitness every initiative was taken up on a mission mode with a target and deadline and a good pontification on the near-divine-to-saintly qualities of a young dynamic visionary leader who was the CEO of Andhra Pradesh.Naidu s rhetoric was the buzz of commonplace conversation media discussions and analysis. The pradhan sevak was clearly an inspired script.Consider two statements of Naidu: I won t sleep till Andhra Pradesh develops. I work 18 hours a day and urge every one of you to do so and I will not take one paisa bribe or allow anyone in my party or government to do so .Naidu used endorsements from Bill Gates heads of the World Bank and IMF and heads of visiting countries to build his brand. Long before LinkedIn built it he knew the value of professional endorsements especially form business barons and spiritual leaders. He ensured US president Bill Clinton visited his mega creation CyberTowers the new temple of a panacea for a New Andhra Pradesh technology.Yoga and meditation were made compulsory for all MLAs then bureaucrats and senior police officers. Cinema stars business icons sports stars and intellectuals made a beeline for a photograph. He became bigger than the party and government it was the Naidu government not Andhra Pradesh or TDP government. His appointments were perceived as spectacular; he had appointed the first woman Dalit speaker to any State Assembly he had nominated a Dalit as a Lok Sabha Speaker.In those days Naidu would disrupt everything carefully crafting an image of a global development icon champion of reforms but devoted to welfare of people achieved through growth and trickle down impact. He started the Indian School of Business NALSAR and the Indian Institute of Information Technology on one hand and Shilparamam a village themed park for artisans to sell their wares and Rythu Bazaars to enable farmers to get higher remuneration for their produce by selling grain and vegetables directly to urban consumers. The international airport ring road and other major infrastructure projects all build the hope for a Golden Andhra Pradesh .The food for work program and micro lending for women DWCRA groups consolidated the image of economic reforms being for a purpose of alleviating poverty. Power reforms and pioneering private power production made him the natural choice for awards Best chief minister man of the year IT visionary laptop CM and CEO of AP.By 2002 it seemed too remote a possibility for anyone to even challenge much less beat either Vajpayee or Naidu.YSR s farmer betWith the media and narrative strongly set in favour of Naidu YSR took to a gruelling padayatra to force the media and popular conversation to a topic that had been brushed under the carpet extreme agrarian grief. While media flashed Naidu and Gates Naidu and Hitech City Naidu and broad roads Naidu and new projects YSR walked from village to village across three regions of the state Telangana Rayalaseema and Andhra.Where the camera would never go YSR went there and the media was forced to go too and thus expose an underbelly of big claims. Naidu s claims of hospitals school buildings and irrigation canals were exposed; YSR could show to people through a reluctant media in awe of Naidu that canals were dry schools had no teachers hospitals were dilapidated and without medicines or doctors.People saw and brought into the new narrative of YSR Naidu was only for Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh was more than just one thriving capital city. The biggest beneficiaries of Naidu people of a city he rechristened Cyberabad also joined the rest of the state to defeat him in 2004 for neglecting the farmers and villages and focussing only on them.It was YSR s great political intuitiveness to understand that brands are built in urban minds but can be shattered by focusing on rural reality.Rahul s Bharat yatraToday Rahul possibly shrunk in perception as a leader and looking pale and dwarfed against an inflated perception of Modi s invincibility despite increased traction since his US trip and good response in Gujarat will do well to realise the control of media narrative the incumbent prime minister has. Like Naidu Modi has crafted his image by co-aligning with several endorsements initiatives with added advantages Chandrababu never had; brilliant oratory the RSS Hindutva ideology and social media power.Instead of going to places known like IITs or IIMs or the United States of America or post disaster spots Rahul must take the media to places they don t visit ever. To villages and check if villagers are happy. If farmers are happy. If woman are happy. If hospitals have improved. If primary schools have been bettered. To government offices. To fields. To homes of artisans. To small towns. To see if power is supplied. If LED lights have come. If highways are really being constructed at the pace claimed.Like YSR if Rahul can undertake a padayatra across India or even a rath yatra like LK Advani he can let common people tell other common people if acche din are here. The power of such a cumulative people view on Modi s performance will be the best bet for Rahul Gandhi in 2019; the irrefutable plight of the farmer and rural citizen will be best argument against the Modi-Amit Shah duo s battle cry.Instead of Rahul saying Modi has failed he would do well to imitate YSR and let common people tell other common people if they are happier under Modi.Because Naidu did lose to YSR in 2004. He not only remained in Opposition as a shrunk leader with little prominence but also never came back to ruling in his beloved Cyberabad. And Modi might still lose in 2019.The author has written the MAN Asian Literary prize longlisted bestselling novel Autobiography of a Mad Nation and is a columnist based in Hyderabad.Click here for detailed coverage of Gujarat Assembly Election 2017