LS polls dampen 49th Gujarat Day celebrations

With elections round the corner and code of conduct in place, the state government is unlikely to celebrate the 49th Gujarat Day on May 1. Sources in the state government said that no major celebration has been planned for the day which is normally celebrated as establishment day of the state.

The election for the 15th Lok Sabha in the state has been slated for April 30 and prior to that the government is unable to do anything due to the election code of conduct. Generally, the general administration department (GAD), youth & cultural department and the chief minister’s office (CMO) plans the Day’s events.

However, as all the ministers and senior officers will also be on election duty, no one therefore will be available on May 1, sources said, further adding that the government may organise some token event in Gandhinagar or Ahmedabad to mark the event. This will be purely government and non-political event unlike the normal Gujarat day celebrations, which is tinged with political hues.

The state government as well as its nodal agency for Gujarat Golden Jubilee 2010 celebration had planned to launch many projects for the Gujarat Day which had to put on the back burner owing to the forthcoming polls.