There is some good news for Congress in Gujarat ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections.
There is some good news for Congress in Gujarat ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections. Congress MPs from Gujarat have performed better in Parliament than their counterparts in other states. These are not claims made by a state party leader, but findings of a survey conducted by a reputed national professional research agency, which conducted a study of all Congress constituencies in the country.
The survey conducted last month was sanctioned by Congress party head-quarters in New Delhi with a purpose to initiate a systematic process of short-listing candidates for the coming elections.
The first step of course would be to find out whether the incumbents have performed good enough to be repeated. In what came as a surprise even to the sitting MPs,
Gujarat’s score in terms of overall performance — at an average of 3.5 out of 5 points —was higher than any other state. The national average of Congress MPs’ performance is around 2.7 on a scale of 1 to 5, while 10 from Gujarat have scored between 3 and 3.5. Needless to say, most of the sitting MPs from Gujarat are likely to be repeated.
The Southern states in fact are expected to throw up many more fresh faces as the performance score in some seats is as low as about 2 points.
Amreli MP Virjibhai Thummer and Banaskantha MP Harisinhji Chavda have performed below par, while Mehsana MP Jivabhai Patel has scored the highest. Union ministers from Gujarat —Shankersinh Vaghela and Naran Rathwa — are also comfortably placed.
“Junagadh MP Jasubhai Barad is facing internal problems, but if he can deal with them, he can be repeated,” sources in the party said.
“The internal party perception has changed about Gujarat following the survey. This is reflected in Rahul’s consistent focus on Gujarat,” said a senior party leader in Delhi, who is closely following developments in Gujarat.
“The general perception earlier was that Congress will sink in Gujarat following Narendra Modi’s ‘Vibrant’ claims, but the opinion poll in the survey has buoyed Congress workers’ spirits,” the party sources said, adding that “In December 2008, it appeared Congress will not win more than 6-7 seats. Today, a genuine estimate says the party may add at least two seats to the existing 12.”
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