Even with such crucial importance of the poll, both sides seem to have entered the fray without comprehensive study to have the feel of the transformations that the electorate has undergone. It will have overwhelming majority of educated fourth generation since the formation of Gujarat in May 1960. It is no more seeped in conventional conservatism. Economic betterment dominates its aspirations that shun caste prejudices. Religion takes a back seat for them.

Yet the ruling party rushed the BJP chief ministers to campaign with the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi scheduled to visit again and again with the party built media myth that Gujarat is eager to hear him more. He cannot deal with modernism and drags audience to the Indian glory in distant past while the Prime Minister seeks to convince his audiences to work hard to achieve glory that is ahead in time. Yogi attempts to build rapport with religious minded middle class. NaMo effort is to pull out the deprived and the Dalits from their abyss. The difference in their approach is one of the signs of prevailing internal strife in the party.

The section within the party has set the mark of glory for NaMo at winning 150 seats. It is essential after the unprecedented numbers credited to him in the UP assembly polls. Any number les may not be taken as victory of NaMo but of the party with its old agenda. There are several indicators to suggest existing differences within the party. The question that political observers need to answer is why the BJP core is obsessed with idea of proving the Gujarat victory is not of NaMo?

The Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi who entered the election bound state only last month to lead his party cannot blame as he usually does the state unit of the party for the debacle. His approach has paved the way for snatching the defeat from jaws of the electoral ogre. He attempted to build the caste equation for his side, perhaps under the belief that the caste combination had delivered historic results for his party in 1980.he overlooked that he was dealing with third generation since then and caste combinations have become irrelevant with increase in literacy by virtually twenty per cent in three decades. His drawing to his side the emerging young leaders engaged in agitations based approach to highlight problems of the deprived and the Dalits would have paid dividends but he has marred his own prospects by his attempts to drag even the Patidar stir leaders. Patidar stand is diagonally opposite to interests of the deprived in the state. The claims of the Patidar fighters that entire Patidar community is with it are yet to be tested, particularly after a demand voiced to place them among OBCs to enable the government to give them benefits of reservations in education. Granting the demand would entail a cut in existing beneficiaries.

However the main question is how many Patidars would be willing to give up their present status as economically, socially and educationally forward community? Patel is a race with high self esteem. Patel means mukhiya of entire village. Others in village look forward to Patel to defend them. Their children are still able to earn 85 per cent marks, but limited number of seats, deprive them opportunities. Patel is so busy a person in attending to the community needs that he is unable to attend to education of his child. Another pertinent question was how many Patel would agree to vote for the Congress in case of alliance with the agitating group of Patidars?

Instead political prudence was in allowing Patidars to be a third force in the poll battle to draw away as many votes s they could to ensure victory of more Congress candidates. Instead Rahul Gandhi pronounced weakness of his party with opening a dialogue with three different entities. It was virtual admission that his party was not strong enough to take on BJP alone. But admission was not misplaced as the state unit of his party has not been able to establish public contact by reaching them directly sand physically. Instead it depended only on politics of press notes.

The Congress high command has also not made any attempt to analyze why the party lost all 26 seats of the state in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. The party high command has not heard the party workers to know of ground realities. Without understanding reasons of loss how can anyone prepare for new battle, particularly by keeping the state unit weak? Rahul Gandhi moved to take over the strategy of the party for the election at the last minute after neglecting it for three years. But then the high command is in habit of blaming the weakness of state units in conversion of good will generated by the mother and the son into votes. This pattern was repeated in defeat from state to state in last ten years.

The massive demonstrations in protest over the GST scheme in different parts of Gujarat in last one month are not a matter that should give comfort to the opponents. The protest demonstration is to seek relief by demonstrations rather than outright rejection of the BJP. The demonstrators are after all traditional voters of the BJP. It may be that they were incited to protest against policies of the NaMo government rather than expressing their anguish. In any case NaMo is not the issue of this election for voters. He is far away and ruling he country. The vote is for mandate to rulers for the state.