No party holy for Gujarat’s temple seats

AHMEDABAD: Contrary to the popular perception, assembly constituencies with revered pilgrim centres have never been a monopoly of the BJP. Both the Congress and the BJP have won almost equal number of such seats — 20 and 19 respectively — in the past six elections since 1990. It was in 1990 that BJP leader L K Advani, accompanied by Narendra Modi, launched the Somnath-Ayodhya Rath Yatra which led to the revival of the party, not just in Gujarat but in India as well.
In the 2012 elections too, Somnath seat was wrested by the Congress from the BJP. In fact, the latest temple-visiting spree of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in the state is being seen as a conscious attempt at pedalling soft-Hindutva. Many attribute Congress’s ‘temple run’ to the party’s defeat in Dakor which it had won thrice since 1990.
Congress also lost Chotila in the last election. Perhaps this is why Rahul recently went to offer prayers there, climbing over 1,000 temple steps. Gandhi’s two-day visit from November 9 will also see him pray at the Pavagadh temple, another constituency where BJP enjoys a fiefdom since 2002. Gandhi is expected to visit prominent temples in North Gujarat like Ambaji, Umiya Mata temple in Unjha and other places of worship. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah had offered prayers at the Somnath temple in early March even as elections were on in Uttar Pradesh.
For both the parties, temple towns have been major battlefields since the mid-1980s. According to TOI archives, back in December 1983 when the Indira Gandhi-led Congress (I) was anticipating a mid-term poll, its general secretary Rajiv Gandhi conducted a two-day 600km whirlwind tour of North Gujarat covering Sabarkantha, Banaskatha and Mehsana districts, addressing 20 public and 29 unscheduled meetings.
Back then, Rajiv had visited Ambaji, Danta, Deesa, Palanpur, Patan, Mehsana, Kadi and Kalol and some of the important pilgrim sites here.
“It’s not just the major temples that Rahul has been visiting. While on way from Kagvad to Jetpur during his earlier rounds of campaign, he made an impromptu visit to Dasi Jeevan temple, revered by dalits and Buddhists, and the Jalaram temple,” said a senior Congressman.
Senior BJP leader Jaynarayan Vyas said that it is a wrong perception that people in temple constituencies vote are driven by by religious sentiments. “For them, like in any other polls, the issues of basic amenities such as roads, electricity, water supply and work and business opportunities govern people’s voting decisions,” said senior BJP leader Jaynarayan Vyas.