E-Paper
Gujarat's Gandhians keep away from campaigning
Many Gandhians who had campaigned against BJP in the assembly poll appear to be a disheartened lot ahead of the general election.
Many Gandhians in Gujarat who had spiritedly campaigned against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly poll two years ago appear to be a disheartened lot ahead of the general election.
The reason is the failure in 2002 of the anti-BJP campaign of the Gujarat Sangharsh Samiti, an association of 250 NGOs with 30,000 members, spearheaded by the Gandhians.
Veteran Gandhian Narayan Desai says: "At that time, many of us got convinced about our inability to change the system."
They had distributed over eight million anti-BJP pamphlets in 1,000-odd villages of Gujarat. But the BJP and Chief Minister Narendra Modi got a thumping victory in the assembly poll.
"Our campaign against fascist forces two years ago met with a crushing defeat," says Desai, who authored Gandhi's biography in Gujarati.
"I can't say about others, but as far as I am concerned I don't find the time and energy to change the system. And If I can't change the system I should preserve my energy for more constructive work," says Desai.
And that's why perhaps the Gandhians in Gujarat have opted out of mobilising public opinion in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The elections in the state are barely two weeks away.
Chunibhai Vaidya, the Gujarat Sangharsh Samiti convenor and a Gandhian, believes the sharp communal polarisation in the state is a result of their failed anti-BJP campaign.
"During his 2002 election campaign, Modi delivered 186 public speeches in which nowhere did he raise the issue of development. He spoke only on Hindutva," says Vaidya.
"Our anti-BJP campaign boomeranged on us. When we said 'anti-BJP', voters took it for 'anti-Hindu'."
He said NGOs earlier associated with the Samiti had lost interest in political issues and were focussing on developmental work instead.
"Moreover," Vaidya added, "one of our colleagues, a Gandhian and a reputed political thinker, joined a leading Gujarati daily, which is a mouthpiece of the BJP."
Refusing to name his colleague and the newspaper, Vaidya said, "His joining a paper that advocates Modi's viewpoint has disheartened many of us."
