Narendra Modi starts political campaign in Gujarat, Modi starts campaigning for Gujarat Assembly Elections 2012

11 Sep 2012: New Delhi: Amid huge commandeered crowd and ferried women and children from all over the district, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi launched his own 9/11 attack on the Prime Minister and the Congress at temple town of Bahucharaji in Mehsana district.

Exactly ten years back the same Narendra Modi had whipped up a communal frenzy from this place during his Gujarat Gaurav Yatra with his controversial remark of "Hum Panch Humara Pachchis", in an oblique reference to the minority community. Ten years down the line, struck by his prime ministerial ambition, Narendra Modi tried raising the issue of corruption in coal block allocation by the Union government before the essentially rural crowd of North Gujarat with a hope of striking similar chords once again.

Narendra Modi is on a high as parched Saurashtra and Kutch saw moderate to heavy rains recently, which eased the fodder scarcity in the stronghold of his bête noire Keshubhai Patel and Gordhan Zadafiya and fuelled hopes for the farmers to raise cash crops like maize and corn after missing out on their staple groundnut and cotton sowing.

As a matter of fact Modi, who has been under pressure from the growing clout of Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) and mounting discontent among the farmers in Saurashtra, had failed to conceal his glee. In a recent meeting Modi had in fact said that now that the rains have arrived "the (currency) notes will rain and so will votes."

While the state government has been issuing advertisements on several "injustices meted out to Gujarat" in the local media for quite some time now, Modi too indicated that the perception will be further fanned in the state ahead of the election. Falling back on his vitriolic style, Modi 'appealed' to the people to work towards 'Congress-free Gujarat' on the lines of 'gutka-free Gujarat' to wipe out "cancer", as thousands of people were walking out of the venue site after being denied entry into the makeshift arrangement, muddied from a heavy rain last night.

Half a kilometer long line of police vehicles on a narrow murky road that led to the venue added to the plight of thousands of villagers, who were brought to attend the starting of the yatra ahead of the most crucial election in the career of Gujarat chief minister. As the people were denied entry after the makeshift venue could not hold any more people, most left frustrated without seeing the leaders.

As Modi spoke, many rolled in the slimy mud quite literally.

Modi kick starting the electioneering however targeted the Congress alleging that Congress is following the lines of its former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi and is targeting constitutional bodies like CAG. On the 2G issue, Congress leaders had adopted a similar stance towards the Supreme Court, Modi added.

Modi also took on the Congress for its poll slogan "Disha badlo dasha Badlo" (change direction change situation) and asked what disha (direction) is being talked about? That of Delhi? Asking the crowd if they want the same durdasha of Delhi, that of corruption and curfew, he said Gujarat doesn't want any of these.

Modi also reacted to the appeals of local Congress leaders to the people to oppose him during his yatra and said are the leaders so scared that they wouldn't even listen to his voice?

"Do you want Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister to face similar opposition when they come here," Modi said adding that in a democracy, everyone is entitled to place their views. He further stated that his government will extend all the support to the opposition to place their views before the people.

The first phase of the Vivekanand Yuva Vikas Yatra traversed through Modhera, Chanasma, Dhinoj, Jotana, Kadi and ended with a public meeting at Sanand.

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