While the rest of the country discusses and debates seat sharing-agreements and coalition arrangements, the poll scene in Gujarat appears to be rather predictable. The state remains saffronised and the BJP Modi-fied, even as the Congress struggles as ever in a divided house, seeking leaders and party workers alike. Except that two of the BJP’s 26 Lok Sabha candidates — Bhavsinh Rathod and Somji Damor from the reserved constituencies of Patan and Dahod, respectively— happened to be Congressmen until just a short while ago.

The BJP in Gujarat, of course, does not admit that it did not have befitting candidates for the two seats of Dahod and Patan within its ranks, while the Congress minimises the impact of the defections. And in this era of crossover politics, it is tempting to not think much further of it, but in Gujarat, this development, of the BJP opting for these sidelined Congressmen just before parliamentary elections, speaks volumes.

The BJP has dominated electoral outcomes at all levels — from civic body polls to Assembly and general elections for more than a decade in Gujarat. To beat anti-incumbency, Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s choice of fresh faces is always a prominent feature of the party’s list of candidates — an experiment that has reaped electoral success. So it was no surprise when the BJP’s sitting MPs were axed and it was announced that more than 50 per cent of the party’s candidates would be contesting the Lok Sabha polls for the first time.

... contd.