STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Taking jibe at the Congress for deliberately allowing space for the BJP to grow in the rural Gujarat, Chairman, Democratic Azad Party and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has held its leadership squarely responsible for the party debacle in the politically significant state.
In an exclusive interview to STATE TIMES here the other day, Azad recalled the stiff fight given by the Congress to the BJP in 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections, leaving a slender margin between the two parties. But the scenario in the just concluded elections has been different and the Congress is facing the imminent threat of being pushed to the wall. He attributed lack of leadership at both, national and the state level, responsible for the sad state of affairs, saying that this predominant factor paved way for the BJP to breach the strong bastion of the party in the rural Gujarat. Such a lackadaisical attitude of the leadership has forced the Congress to die its own death.
Essentially a rural based party since its inception, the Congress had a strong hold on Zila Parishads and almost used to sweep the elections to these basic level democratic institutions. Hitherto-fore restricted to urban areas, the BJP’s win used to be restricted to Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Town Area Committees. But due to its sustained political activities and robust organizational structure, the BJP has now succeeded in making significant inroads in the rural areas. In fact there is nothing of the sort that can be called organizational set up in the Congress. This has taken a toll on the party. The huge gap developed during the past five years due to leadership vacuum is difficult for the Congress to fill, he said, adding that the scenario has been so deplorable that the Congress has not been able to organize rallies and public meetings for the central leaders during the electioneering. This raises many questions, he maintained.
Azad said that the Gujarat elections used to be mainly confined between the Congress and the BJP but with the entry of the third factor in terms of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party the scenario has totally changed. Those disgruntled with the BJP, or having ideological differences with it, or did not subscribe to its policies will now find an option in the AAP to vote. He referred to the pro-active campaign carried out by the AAP in Gujarat with Kejriwal almost staying put there and working tirelessly to ensure the shift of the Congress vote to his party. This seems to have happened as well, as a result the Congress will find a huge dent in its support base. This is going to impact the Congress’s capacity and capability to be a challenger to the national party like the BJP in the crucial 2024 national elections. It will be ironic that a regional party will be snatching the Congress space in the state like Gujarat and be a challenger to the BJP.