Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Gujarat goes to polls” (October 26). With the Election Commission announcing the dates for election in Gujarat, a critical electoral battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been flagged-off. In normal course, this round of polls should not have garnered much attention given the BJP's political dominance since 1998. However, recent developments have stirred up a possible upheaval in the State's politics. The grand old party has been able to broker a loose alliance with the three turks - Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mavani. Surely, this alliance is giving the so-far unvanquished Modi-Shah duo jitters. The coming together of these three community leaders can make it difficult for the BJP to continue its winning streak.
Though not politically damaging, some of the moral sheen would be lost if the BJP wins the election but with a tally that hovers around the two-third mark. The road to 2019 in such a scenario would become thorny, not just externally but also internally as proverbial knives will be out in the parivar. Even the Government will find the going rough because the Opposition would turn belligerent and the BJP's allies will be more demanding. With the way things have taken shape, it seems Gujarat politics is going to see interesting times ahead.