Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has said that BJP is not in the game of defeating anybody in elections but the party workers continuously work to mitigate the grievances of the people at the lowest level which will ensure that the party will win the impending Assembly polls in December for the sixth consecutive term as a dividend.
The Chief Minister said the Gujarat Government has ensured that maximum benefits reach the people at the grassroots through various welfare schemes and he aims to win the elections and not defeat anybody.
“For a party that has been voted to power five times because of the good work they have done for the people, it is easy to win another term,” Patel said while interacting with the media at the Ahmedabad airport on Sunday.
The BJP works for the people round the clock, every day and not like others which are seen on the ground only in the up to the polls.
“I am a positive person. My aim is not to defeat somebody but to win. We will try and win every seat,” the Chief Minister said.
Buttressing his confidence of a pro-incumbency in the upcoming polls, he dished out the recent results of the Panchayat elections as a justification.
“Ahead of the Assembly elections, there are local body elections. Today we are in full power in all the district panchayats. So, I don’t think there is much of a challenge to us this time. The BJP and the Government work together to reach out to the people at the grassroots’ level to ameliorate their hardships,” he said.
The elections in Gujarat have traditionally been a bipartisan contest between the BJP and the Congress, barely leaving any space for a third front. However, this time around the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is eyeing a share in the Gujarat poll pie in face of the party’s spectacular win in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Punjab.
On a question if the AAP will emerge as a force in Gujarat or provide an alternative to the Congress, the Chief Minister said, “If the Congress wants to give away some seats, say, two, five or seven seats to AAP, they are free to do so. Frankly, I do not see AAP taking up the Opposition space in
Gujarat.”
Patel said the BJP ensures that the last man in the queue is not left out of the benefits of various developmental and welfare schemes and due care is taken to ensure fair delivery of the Government schemes. To ensure this, the Government has even started a mechanism of door-to-door visits to ensure that the schemes reach out to all beneficiaries without any hiccups.
Responding to a question on the ambitious seaplane project between Ahmedabad and Statue of Unity of Sardar Patel at Kevadia in Narmada district that has been facing operational issues in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Patel said his Government is working to resolve the hiccups so that the project is not only restarted but it up and flying soon.
“The project will soon start. And this time around, it is not going to stop once it is operationalised,” he said during the interaction.
Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 on the last day of the campaigning of Gujarat elections, the seaplane project was seen as a counter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi rubbishing the development saga of Gujarat as mere tall claims.
The Congress had launched the ‘Vikas Gando Che’ (development has gone berserk) to which the BJP retorted that Hun Chu Vikas, Hun Chu Gujarat (I am development, I am Gujarat).
On the AAP plank of freebies like free electricity and free water in the States in which it has contested and how the BJP will respond to such poll sops, Patel said giving freebies was not the solution as it leads to fiscal imbalance.
“I can also offer freebies. But it will deeply impact the state’s fiscal deficit. Look at Rajasthan where the fiscal deficit ratio has shot up immensely as against the case in Gujarat where it has been maintained strictly despite the pandemic. Usually, the fiscal deficit should be equal or less than 3%. Gujarat’ fiscal deficit hasn’t touched 2% and neither have we burdened the people by introducing any new taxes this year. The Centre has allowed fiscal deficit up to 4.5 percent keeping in view the pandemic situation. In some non-BJP states, the deficit has gone beyond this limit,” the CM said.
In the 2017 Assembly polls, the Congress bagged 77 out of 182 seats which was its best performance in the State in two and half decades. The BJP managed to regain power with a win in 99 Assembly constituencies.
On what could be the tagline for the developmental pitch in the election year, the Chief Minister said new and emerging technologies in green energy space are the next focus area for the State Government in order to reduce carbon footprint. The Government is expected to roll out policies related to electric vehicles, batteries and green hydrogen.
“Green energy and carbon neutrality are some of the areas the Government is actively working on. We have signed MoU of Rs 10,445 crore with Japan’s Suzuki Motors Corp for electric vehicles and batteries. We have also signed another pact worth Rs 5 lakh crore with Reliance Industries in the green energy space,” he said.
The Assembly polls in Gujarat assume significance as it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s home State and the BJP has been harping on the Gujarat model of development poll campaigns in Assembly elections in other States as well as during Parliamentary elections.
On being asked if he feels pressure being in the CM’s chair that was once occupied by PM Modi, Patel said that there is no match for him (Modi).
‘Narendra Bhai ek hi hai (There is only one Narendra Bhai). We work under his guidance. Even globally, there is no match for him. The hard work and the efforts that he has put in the past have made work much easier for us,” the CM further said.