AHMEDABAD/NEWDELHI: Former Gujarat Congress strongman Shankersinh Vaghela Tuesday announced that he will lead a new political ‘front’ which will contest in all seats in the upcoming assembly polls.
Vaghela said the front — ‘Jan Vikalp’ — was floated by some Ahmedabad-based “professionals”, who approached him to provide an alternative to the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in Gujarat, and claimed a number of people wanted to see him as the chief minister.
The 77-year-old former CM, who recently quit the Congress apparently as the party was reluctant to name him the chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming election, made the announcement about his next political move at a press conference here. Vaghela claimed the people associated with Jan Vikalp had conducted a survey and found that most respondents wanted to see him as the next CM of Gujarat.
However, Congress managers are worried that Vaghela’s front will mar its chances in the Gujarat elections.
When he left the Congress, Vaghela took away as many 13 party lawmakers along with him, reducing the party’s tally in the 182-member House from 57 to 44. According to Congress insiders, Vaghela’s decision to lead the Jan Vikalp will only end up dividing the anti-incumbency votes.
The fact that the BJP has been ruling Gujarat for 19 years has given some hope to the Congress strategists who believed they may be able to reverse the trend this time riding on anti-incumbency. But Vaghela’s move has caused a serious rethink within the AICC, said party insiders. Congress strategists feel Jan Vikalp could do an AAP in Gujarat but the problem is that the opposition party lacks a popular face to attract voters.