The Congress dealt a crushing blow to BJP in Gujarat. Amid high drama that went on till the wee hours of Wednesday, Sonia Gandhi's political aide Ahmed Patel romped home in a cliffhanger Rajya Sabha contest. Patel polled 44 votes putting it across the BJP nominee Balwantsinh Rajput after the Election Commission rejected the votes of two dissident Congress MLAs for violating electoral rules. Patel secured 44, the winning mark after the rejection brought down the figure from 45. Rajput could clinch only 38.
After a string of defeats in elections since 2014 and dogged by a series of party infighting, this comes as a huge morale booster for both Patel and the party. A defeat in Gujarat, where Patel was seen as the favourite at the start of the race, would have dented Congress very badly. Patel was the key man for Congress in Gujarat who was battling an aggressive approach of the BJP and the might of India's two most powerful politicians currently - Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, with the contest pitched right in Gujarat, the home ground of both.
It was not only a fight against the BJP candidate, but one which boiled down to political tenacity of two master strategists - Patel versus Shah. For Shah there were two reasons. One was his determination to exact revenge for the Sohrabuddin murder case. The second was BJP wanted to knock out key man Patel while having a go at the Congress structure in Gujarat.
Patel, the biggest and most influential backroom operator for the party, showed extraordinary ability and tenacity in holding his ground and taking the fight to the BJP, upsetting all their calculations. This win will sting Amit Shah badly and crush the ‘invincible' tag that was attached to the Modi-Shah combine. With one match won, there is another test awaiting the Congress in Gujarat when assembly elections take centrestage later this year.
Congress cannot sit and laud over what it achieved here. They'll have to introspect and redraw its strategies. Congress has to make its move on Hardik Patel, the leader of Patel Anamat Andolan Samiti who represents a generous chunk of the upper caste community that forms an influential 14 per cent of the state's population. They will face a heavy onslaught where defections, allegations and heated campaigns will be the hallmark. The party should be ready for the BJP's ruthless and finely tuned political machine.
