Maninagar, a residential area in the not-so-affluent east Ahmedabad, will possibly decide who will rule Gujarat next.
AHMEDABAD: Maninagar, a residential area in the not-so-affluent east Ahmedabad, will possibly decide who will rule Gujarat next. Pitted here in electoral battle are Chief Minister Narendra Modi and union minister Dinsha Patel.
Modi, contesting from the constituency for the first time in December 2002, had a cakewalk as he defeated Congress candidate Yatin Oza, who had been with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), by more than 70,000 votes.
The scene, however, is different now. The Congress has fielded the veteran leader, who has a clean image and is popular among his Patel community, which has good numbers in this constituency.
Moreover, a large number of social activists and BJP dissidents unhappy with Modi have also pitched in for Patel.
By fielding a strong candidate, the Congress also wanted to tie down Modi to his constituency for campaigning but Modi surprised it.
While he went on to campaign across the state, his supporters toiled hard in Maninagar on his behalf.
Modi could bank on his larger-than-life personality, but Patel relied on the time-tested technique of giving a personal touch to his campaign, as he walked main streets and by-lanes, approaching people directly with folded hands, promising them a safe, secure and better Maninagar in terms of civic amenities.
"Modi moves in the air while I have my feet on the ground," Patel said.
Talking about Modi's claim of improving safety and security, he said, "Only last month a police constable was murdered in broad daylight in this constituency. Do you call that security?"
Patel has also been raising the controversial issue of killings of alleged terrorists in staged police shootouts - what with the murder of a Muslim youth, Sohrabuddin Sheikh, becoming a talking point and Modi's statements in that regard inviting notices from the Election Commission as well as the Supreme Court.
"Why is it that since (anti-terror squad police official D.G.) Vanjhara and his team (arrested for Sheikh's murder) went inside the jail, 'terrorists' have stopped coming to Gujarat with plans to attack Modi?" he asked, referring to a series of shootouts.
The BJP has been telling the voters that Patel is an outsider to Maninagar, as he is a parliamentarian from Kheda. In reply, Patel said, "I still come from the neighbourhood. It is Modi who has come from the far-off place (Vadnagar) in north Gujarat."
The Congress has not projected any candidates for the post of chief minister in case it wins, but Patel will be an obvious choice if he defeats Modi.
Modi, on his part, is relying on his popularity among a section of the electorate.
He told his voters that he was inexperienced when he had been elected five years back but he worked hard over the five years and people should judge him by what he delivered.
"Not an hour of vacation I have taken in last five years," he told a well-attended rally in the area.
Modi also reminded people of developmental works undertaken by his government, especially in this main city of the state, in the past five years.
Addressing a rally, he said: "Before I came to power there were frequent curfews in Ahmedabad due to which poor people suffered, particularly the daily wagers. But since I came to power there has been no curfew and people are safe, secure and happy. Do you want to revert to the earlier situation?"
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