Gujarat votes in test for India's 2019 general election

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI

The first phase of state assembly elections in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, began Saturday.

Voters queued at polling stations across 89 constituencies across Saurashtra and South Gujarat from early morning.

Local media reported an 11 percent turnout in the first two hours as well as technical problems with malfunctioning electronic voting machines.

Modi urged voters to turnout in large numbers.

“Phase 1 of Gujarat polls begins,” he said on Twitter. “Urging all those voting today to turnout in record numbers and vote. I particularly call upon youngsters to exercise their franchise.”

The vote, a second round of which will be held on Dec. 14, is seen as crucial for Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of national elections scheduled for 2019.

The party deployed Modi and other senior figures to campaign in the northwestern state.

A total of 977 candidates are standing for election, including Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, BJP State President Jitu Vaghani and leaders of the opposition Congress party Shaktisinh Gohil, Arjun Modhvadia and Paresh Dhanani.

The Congress party has focused on the unpopular Goods and Services Tax introduced in July and has called on traders to punish the BJP.

“It is the home state of PM Modi and it will become the base for the Lok Sahba 2019 elections,” Navjot, chairwoman of Panjab University’s political science department, told Anadolu Agency.

“So it is very important for the BJP and PM Modi to win this election… PM Modi has to show that people still have faith in his leadership in his hometown.”

Patidar

The Gujarat vote is likely to highlight any damage caused by issues such as the sales tax and demonetization, last year’s decision to remove India’s highest denomination banknotes in a bid to target corruption.

Both subjects are cited by small businesses as having caused considerable damage and Gujarat is India’s commercial hub.

“Demonetization and the GST have remained key issues during political campaigning in the state,” Sarvesh Dutt Tripathi, a media expert at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhi, said.

“There are lot of businessmen and small manufacturing units in the state who are said to be affected by the GST. Election results will give a clear picture of whether the business community is unhappy with the government for decisions like the GST.”

The Hindu caste system is also expected to play a significant role in how the voting goes and parties have chosen their candidates carefully following the emergence of caste-based movements demanding reform.

A group representing the Patidar community in particular has gained a lot of traction with its calls for greater representation.

According to local media, the BJP has nominated 50 Patidar candidates and Congress has fielded 41 candidates from the community.

“Among the Patidar community in Gujarat, the youngsters feel that they are getting no jobs,” Ahmedabad-based political analyst Achyut Yagnik told Anadolu Agency. “The younger generation is not happy with BJP.”

He added: “A large number of small and medium industries in the state have closed in last few years because of government policies... So I think it is not going to be an easy cake walk for the ruling BJP and it will be a very close contest between the Congress and the BJP.

“The 2019 elections are approaching, which has made this election victory very important for the BJP. This is also the reason why PM Modi has himself visited frequently during the campaign.”