Gujarat elections 2022: Bilkis, Morbi could play key role

Assembly elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5 with the counting of votes on December 8 along with that of Himachal Pradesh Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on ThursdayVoting for 89 of the 182 assembly seats will be held on December 1 and for the remaining 93 seats on December 5 he said The ED announced HP polls dates on October 14These 10 factors could play a role in elections to the assembly1 BJP has a trump card in the form of PM Narendra Modi who was Gujaratrsquos chief minister from 2001 to 2014 But his sway over followers in his home state is still intact and several political observers are of the view that he will be a big deciding factor in the polls2 The impact of the remission of sentences of those convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case will play out differently for the majority and minority communities Muslims are demanding justice for Bilkis Bano while a section of Hindus would like to ignore the issue3 Antiincumbency The 24year rule of the BJP from 1998 onwards has led to growing dissatisfaction in sections of society said political observers People believe that inflation unemployment and basic issues have remained unresolved even after decades of BJP rule said political observer Hari Desai4 The Morbi bridge collapse has brought to the fore the nexus between administration and rich businessmen The issue is likely to dominate the minds of the voters5 Frequent paper leaks and postponement of government recruitment exams have dashed the hopes of youths working hard to get jobs leading to much resentment6 If school classrooms are constructed in remote rural areas there is a dearth of teachers And if teachers are recruited there is a lack of classrooms affecting education7 Farmers are agitating in parts of the state as they have not been given compensation for crop loss due to excess rains in the last two years8 Gujarat was earlier known for its good roads However in the past five to six years the state government and municipal corporations have not been able to construct good roads or maintain old roads Complaints of potholes are also common9 Gujarat has one of the highest electricity tariffs in the country People are looking forward to offers from the AAP and the Congress of giving 300 units free per month10 Dissatisfaction among farmers and landowners whose lands are being acquired for various government projects Farmers for instance opposed land acquisition for highspeed bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai They also opposed land acquisition for the expressway project between Vadodara and MumbaiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever