Gujarat Cong on shakier ground than ever

The picture the Gujarat Congress had cut in the elections has got even sorrier. Vitthal Radadia, one of the 61 Congress candidates who won their seats, has gone back to the BJP and taken along his son Jayesh, also an MLA. Somabhai Patel, who too won, prefers to remain an MP rather than serve as an MLA. And Savita Khant died shortly after she won the election.

The loss of four seats brings the Congress's strength down to 57 in a house of 182. The 61 seats it had won had been marginally better than the 59 of 2007 and the 50 seats of 2002. The Congress has been out of power in Gujarat since 1995.

It had 11 Lok Sabha MPs to the BJP's 15, but has suffered a setback with the death of Mukesh Gadhvi. It controls only a handful of local bodies at various levels. It had two of eight municipal corporations but both are now with the BJP, which won over a number of Congress corporators.

Vitthal Radadia used to be a BJP leader until he joined a rebel faction led by former chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela, who eventually merged it with the Congress. His return to the BJP leaves the Congress's morale at a low that insiders compare with the way they had felt in 1990, when they had only 33 seats.

Radadia was one of three MPs whom the Congress had fielded in the assembly elections. Radadia remains an MLA for the time being, Somabhai Patel surrendered his assembly seat, and Kunwarji Bavalia lost. So did the party's two top-ranking leaders — Arjun Modhwadia, who headed the state unit, and Shaktisinh Gohil, who led the legislature party.

Following Radadia's move, the BJP has gone public about how "many Congress leaders are in touch with us". Before the polls, it had wooed Patel leader Narhari Amin from the Congress. Several local Congress leaders from Patel-dominated Mahesana district are reported to be preparing to join the BJP in the next few weeks. Congress leader Poonam Madam, a niece of MP Vikram Madam, is now a BJP MLA.

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