Gujarat Assembly Election 2017: Modi magic still strong in Saurashtra as people fondly recall his achievements as CM

In Saurashtra’s Morbi, there was a buzz about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally. People who came from Morbi and surrounding areas to hear Modi repeatedly said that regardless of anything, victory will got to vada pradhan Narendra Modi. Sarpanch Keshubhai Kadivar and deputy sarpanch Jayanti Bhai Kadivar of Morbi’s Waghpar village reached Modi’s rally together. Both were excited to see Modi once again. During the conversation before the rally, Keshubhai said, ‘There is no problem. Like other times, Patels are coming with us again.’ Jayanti Bhai said, ‘Our vada pradhan has done a lot when he was here in Gujarat. Earlier wedid not have water and had to go far away to get it. But now, weget water in our houses. All this happened due to the vada pradhan. So there is no question of going with the Congress.’ After talking to the elders of the Patel community, I tried to talk to some young Patels too. We talked to some of them who had gone with Hardik Patel at the time of Anamat aandolan and tried to understand what was going on in their minds. After talking to many young people, it seems that change is afoot. [caption id=“attachment_4182597” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Primi Minister Narendra Modi. Reuters[/caption] Uday Bhai Seetabara, who lives in Morbi, said, ‘We were in the BJP earlier, but later went for the Anamat aandolan with Hardik Patel. Now we have come back to the BJP and vote for the BJP’. Chandresh Patel too gave a similar response. While waiting eagerly for Modi’s rally, Chandresh said, “earlier we were in the Anamat aandolan but Hardik Patel has now gone with the Congress. We cannot go with the Congress. We will vote for BJP only.” During the rally, I talked to many young people. It seemed that while they have a soft corner in their hearts for Hardik Patel’s movement around reservation, they did not like his joining hands with the Congress. BJP looks at this as a ray of hope. BJP strategists are convinced that most of the young people standing with Hardik will come along with the them. Only those who have traditionally supported Congress will stay with Hardik. Modi magic remains intact Talking to the people at the Morbi rally, it seemed that the hard work the BJP has put in is turning hopes into reality. BJP repeatedly keeps Modi’s face in the foreground and stresses on Gujarati identity. After being Gujarat chief minister for 13 years, these elections have become very important for Modi, who has become the country’s vada pradhan. He is now leading the country after leading the BJP to victory in Gujarat for three consecutive Assembly elections. However he must once again ensure the BJP’s victory in these elections as it is now a question of credibility. Modi, who arrived in Morbi’s rally, did not even mention Hardik Patel’s name once during his entire speech. Modi is deliberately doing this for political reasons. However, he did not miss the opportunity to once again call Rahul Gandhi and his family anti-Gujarat. Strategy to label Nehru-Gandhi family as anti-Gujarat Speaking about the dam on the river Narmada, Modi referred to the UPA government of the time and called Sonia Gandhi anti-Gujarat. During the Amreli rally on the first day of the Gujarat tour, Modi told people it was Rahul Gandhi’s party’s government which tried to stop the water. People living in Saurashtra region have also acknowledged that before the Narmada water came, they had to travel several kilometres to get water. But now it is a matter of the past and they get water comes from the taps in their houses. Sticking to this issue, Modi has been making efforts to remind the people of Gujarat about his work. However he also realises that the young people are not aware/don’t remember those times before 1995 when the Congress was in power. During the Amreli rally, Modi also had a message for the youth of Gujarat. He said that the youth do not know how their parents and grandfathers had to stay in the darkness in Gujarat at night. Attempts to invoke Gujarati identity Modi, who speaks of six crore Gujaratis, has ruled their hearts for the past 14 years. He has been at the centre of all the talk about the identity of Gujarat and the Gujarat model across the country. Once again Modi gave signals regarding this from the stage. He tried to show the people of Gujarat this time too that they have it all and they should not let it go to waste. Modi’s message was clear that this time their vada pradhan is sitting in Delhi and if another of their own sits in Gandhinagar, then the development of Gujarat will happen even faster. Suresh Bhai Thakore said after the rally, “We are not with Alpesh Thakore, we are with our vada pradhan. He has done a lot for Saurashtra. He has given water, he has given electricity. How can we forget that?” During his election rallies, Modi is also trying his best to target Congress by talking about his tea-seller roots. By referring to the tweet which made fun of his tea-selling background, he is able to give a new edge to his Gujarati identity. He says that I have sold tea, not the country. He has used this to target Rahul, Sonia and the entire Congress. At the moment, after speaking to people at rally after rally, it seems that the Modi magic is still prevalent in the Gujarati community. The common Gujarati does not have any complaints with their vada pradhan. This Modi magic is greatly strengthening the BJP. The party is feeling that whatever little resentment is present, that can be handled in the name of Modi. Click here for detailed coverage of Gujarat Assembly Election 2017