Results of assembly by-polls may prove crucial for the CM, but he stays away from campaigning.
By-elections for seven assembly seats in Gujarat are only four days away and campaigning will soon come to an end. A lot is at stake for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the by-polls but chief minister Narendra Modi has stayed away from campaigning.
This is a far cry from the situation about four months ago when Narendra Modi was the saffron party's star campaigner in the Lok Sabha polls, overshadowing even the party's prime ministerial candidate LK Advani. Modi had then addressed the maximum number of election meetings for the BJP.
The by-polls in Gujarat are crucial for the BJP, more so after the party's none-too-impressive performance in the Lok Sabha elections and the debacle in Junagadh corporation election. Modi has, however, chosen his loyal ministers and senior party leaders to lead the campaign and is said to be monitoring the situation.
This may not entirely be a surprise as, some party leaders point out, the top leaders often stay away from leading the by-poll campaigns, leaving other leaders to take the baton. Therefore Modi appears to have followed the same path and left the second line of leadership in the state to run the campaign.
But, according to political watchers, the situation may be a little tricky for the Gujarat chief minister.
"Modi appears to be on the horns of a dilemma. He has so far stayed away from campaigning. If the party fares badly in the by-polls, it will be a major setback for Modi, who needs to prove that his grip over voters in Gujarat has been intact," said a party leader, who did not want to be identified.
"However, Modi's problems do not end there. For example, if the party does well in the by-polls, a message will go down the line that the party can pull off victories even without Modi's active participation," said the leader, adding that, "Had Modi decided to lead the party's campaign in Gujarat assembly by-polls, it would have been a major gamble for him. Because, if the BJP loses the by-polls, fingers would be raised at Modi's ability to win assembly elections even in his home state."
At the moment, however, Modi is monitoring the party's poll campaign, without taking an active part. "The candidates and party leaders are campaigning in respective assembly constituencies and have taken up local issues. They are also trying to highlight the achievements of the Modi government," said a party leader. "The party has not adopted a uniform policy for campaigning and local issues have dominated the campaign style," the leader said.
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