Gujarat BJP chief Purushottam Rupala has been through the rough and tumble of Gujarat politics and is considered one of the shrewdest politicians in the state.
AHMEDABAD: From being the confidant of BJP rebel leader Keshubhai Patel to now being the second-in-command of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, state BJP chief Purushottam Rupala has been through the rough and tumble of Gujarat politics and is considered one of the shrewdest politicians in the state.
The BJP chief has remained a staunch Modi ally and fiercely shielded the CM against criticism through his tenure. DNA catches up with Rupala, who took out time from his campaigning in Surat, for a one-on-one.
How is this election different from 2002?
This time around we are campaigning more aggressively and have for the first time ever begun carpet-bombing all constituencies at one go. Our national leaders held meetings in all 87 constituencies under the first phase and 95 under the second at the same time, which has never been done before anywhere in India.
Is that because you feel the Congress could do some serious damage in this election?
This is news to me. Our only intention of initiating such a campaign is to bring about certain newness and fierceness in our canvassing.
How many seats do you think you can bag in this election?
I will not get into the numbers game, but we are confident of improving our tally over last election.
There is a possibility that the voter turnout might be low in this election, which could hurt BJP's chances as it has traditionally done well when polling has been higher. What do you feel?
We are making every effort to ensure that voter turnout is high and we are confident that it could be as high as 60%.
Is the fact that the Sangh Parivar cadres are not assisting you in poll campaigning the reason there is not much mobilisation of support for the BJP among voters?
The Sangh Parivar has always acted on its own accord. So it is up to them to comment on how they plan to use their organisations in the election.
Why did you not choose to contest the polls yourself?
I have the responsibility of the state, so it would have been difficult to concentrate on my constituency. So, I decided to abstain from contesting polls.
You were once close to Keshubhai Patel and Suresh Mehta, who are now in the rebel camp. How does it feel fighting them in this election?
We are not fighting them, we are fighting the Congress.
Do you think dissidents will be able to affect the party's fortunes in the election?
The political history of Gujarat shows that voters never support dissidents. So we are not worried about their activity.
What do you think of Uma Bharati taking a plunge in the polls?
She has already given out a statement in this regard so I will not like to comment on it.
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