BJP sings 'feel good', Congress pins hope on anti-incumbency

By Mahesh Langa

Ahmedabad, Feb. 19: With general elections round the corner, the BJP camp is pinning its hope on the "feel good" factor and "Shining India" campaign while the Congress is confident that anti-incumbency factor will go in its favour.

Ruling out the anti-incumbency factor, state BJP general secretary Jayanti Barot said the "feel good" plus Atalji’s leadership will sweep the nation. "Our government has tried to please the classes as well as the masses and that will benefit us at the polls," he said adding that development will be the main poll plank of the BJP and NDA. When asked about the caste factor, he said it will continue to play small but definite role in every election in the country.

Newly-appointed GPCC president B.K. Gadhvi dubbed the "so-called feel good" wave as a balloon which will burst at the hustings. He stressed that anti-incumbency factor will cost the NDA its government. The real issue, however, will be the anti-poor policies of the NDA government, he conceded.

Gadhvi’s predecessor and Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela felt that the publicity stunt of the Vajpayee government to cover its failures will not be taken lightly by the electorate. In Gujarat, he said the major issue will be electricity tariff hike and power shortage in rural areas. In Gujarat, "double anti-incumbency" will go against the state BJP government and the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

State BJP organising secretary Suresh Gandhi, while rejecting the anti-incumbency hypothesis, said the all round development has left the "feel good" factor prevailing in the electorate. "There’s no question of dissatisfaction among the people," he stressed. He too said that caste factor will leave its impact on the General Elections.