Congress anticipates early elections in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: The Congress party is gearing up for early elections in Gujarat. The party feels that the ruling BJP-government in the state might dissolve the assembly six months prior to the schedule elections in December 2012, if new cases of corruption are lodged against party members or ministers in near future.

Shankersinh Vaghela who has been appointed as the election in-charge for the Gujarat assembly elections, 14-months prior to the scheduled elections said, "We anticipate that the BJP will dissolve the assembly by the end of May or June 2012 and declare elections. We do not want to be caught off-guard and so we are preparing for this."

"We believe that that the chief minister of Gujarat will meet the same fate as his counterpart BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka. There are several cases of the corruption that the BJP has been hiding all this while in Gujarat. If these come to the fore, the party as a face-saver will go in for early elections, " Mr Vaghela told a press conference in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

The Congress will be launching its election campaign from Kutch on September 28th which it believes is the "epicenter" of BJP's corruption in the state. The party will also hold a "maha rally" on the 30th in Palanpur town of North Gujarat.

"In 2002 when I was appointed as the president of the Congress party, the BJP suddenly declared elections. We do not want to be caught off guard this time. We understand the thought process of the BJP leadership in Gujarat," he remarked.