By-elections in Modi's backyard are a jolt

Losing three out of nine Assembly seats in Gujarat by-election against a boast of winning all the nine seats is not just a jolt for Gujarat BJP's over-confidence but also a jolt for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the eve of his birthday. It is also a setback for his nominee, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, and the duo's working style, which doesn't give enough credence to genuine party workers and often treats them as objects of convenient use.

In a way the BJP has also paid the price for putting down party's powerful and popular leaders and raising in their place inexperienced and undeserving workers. Powerful and popular leaders like Vajubhai Vala, who was recently moved to Karnataka as Governor; national BJP vice president Purshottam Rupala, a fiery orator; and State Finance Minister Nitin Patel have been of late downsized, which is clearly reflected in the results. As a senior party worker put it: "It is not that the Congress has won these three seats on its own strength. Rather it is the BJP which has defeated itself. Things could have been different had genuine party leaders and workers been given credence."'

For example, in Vadodra Lok Sabha seat, which Modi himself vacated, Ranjan Bhatt, a city deputy mayor but a political novice, was fielded against the expectation of genuine party workers. Vadodara, a former princely state, is known as Gujarat's Sanskar nagari (city of culture) and many were expecting that the seat would either go to a leader of high standing, or to the royal family nominee, Samarjitsinh Gaekwad, or to BJP leader Balkrishna Shukla, who was Vadodara MP before vacating the seat for Modi. Of course, Bhatt handsomely won in a city which is BJP's citadel but the voting percentage was low--45 per cent-and reflected a certainly lack of interest on the part of voters.

It cannot, however, be considered a judgement on the governance of Anandiben Patel, who has kept up the momentum of good governance left behind by Modi by working extremely hard and coming up with administrative reform schemes. The loss of three seats on BJP's part is clearly due to the problems within the party, more than any thing else. In a way the results are a reflection of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat when the party gave tickets to a series of novices, disregarding committed party workers, winning just 15 of the total 26 Lok Sabha seats instead of the expected 20. Clearly, there are lessons to be learnt by both Modi and Patel.

The situation can be corrected only by giving due importance to genuine party workers and their aspirations.