Gujarat govt faces criticism as Covid-19 cases surge

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 6

While the pandemic politics rages in the TMC-ruled West Bengal — where the BJP is accusing the “inefficient” Chief Minister of a “Covid-19 data cover up” — in the saffron-ruled Gujarat, which is close to the top in the list of states with the highest number of coronavirus cases and mortality, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is facing no such visible political crisis.

The home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah has also been witness to unrest and violent protests by migrant labourers. On Monday, a large group clashed with the police in Surat demanding that they be sent home. It was the fourth such instance in the city where a large number of migrants from other states work in diamond and textile industries.

Rupani’s response to the crisis as also the time his government “wasted” in organising the ‘Namaste Trump’ event and “engineering defections” to deny the Congress party one seat in Rajya Sabha is under criticism. But with rivals seemingly in disarray, especially after the Rajya Sabha episode, there is no immediate threat to the government.

Prime Minister Modi’s “popularity” and Home Minister Shah’s “direct control” is holding Gujarat for the BJP, say state leaders. “Gujarat is being run by officials handpicked by Modi and Shah,” they say.

Despite these advantages, observers warn that the BJP will have to redefine itself if it wants to retain the state. The Lok Sabha elections may be four years away but a CM not seen delivering at the time of a crisis is bad news, they say, citing the example of the non-BJP CMs like Amarinder Singh in Punjab, Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala, Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra and Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan, who all have been appreciated for their proactive response.

“Something will have to be done in Gujarat before it goes to poll, like putting up a strong face. Voters are reacting differently in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. They may want Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister but they also want a strong Chief Ministerial face in the state,” they say.

In fact, the Covid-19 response of the respective Chief Ministers is expected to reflect in the Assembly elections due next in Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.