Congress' Milind Deora calls Gujarat 'tough state' to win ahead of polls slated this year

Former Union Minister and Congress leader Milind Deora, who has been appointed the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) observer for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, stated that Gujarat is a tough" state to win, however, the challenge is not insurmountable for the grand old party.

Speaking to PTI, Milind Deora said that Congress had come close to winning Gujarat five years ago, riding on the anti-incumbency factor after demonetisation. Speaking on his role as party observer, Deora stated, "It is a big responsibility and I will do my best to try to come close to what happened five years ago and ensure that no stone is left unturned to win this time. We have to salvage the situation and help the party grow quickly."

"I will work with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to help the party frame the right strategy, ensuring that there is unity on the ground and the same mistakes, which affected us in the previous elections, are not repeated," Deora told PTI.

'Gujarat is a tough state': Milind Deora

Adding further, the former MP stated that Congress has to highlight and expose decades of anti-incumbency and present a constructive plan of its own. "We not only have to oppose the BJP, but also suggest alternatives of our own for development of the economic and social model of Gujarat," Deora said.

"There are challenges, but they are not insurmountable. We can do better than we did last time. An observer’s role is not to tell the state unit what to do, but to ensure that things go smoothly and maintain a harmonious balance in the organisation," he said. When asked about defeats faced by the party in past, Deora said that Gujarat is a tough state, but predicting elections based on past performances is not right.

Gujarat elections

Assembly elections for the state of Gujarat are scheduled to take place later this year. Notably, to prepare itself for the assembly elections, Congress leaders met earlier in July to discuss the party's strategy for the upcoming elections. The party decided that Congress leaders should not make personal attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Gujarat was his home state, the sources told PTI.

It is pertinent to mention that Gujarat, the home state of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has been ruled by the BJP since 1998, while Congress has not been successful in winning state assembly elections since 1995. In the 2017 elections, Congress had won 77 seats, while the BJP had secured 99. Notably, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who had recently announced a New Organization structure for Gujarat comprising over 850 office bearers, is also trying to portray AAP as the better alternative.