Gujarat polls: All eyes on Rahul Gandhi after Modi barb

NEW DELHI: The battle between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi is likely to intensify in Gujarat in the coming days as the Congress vice-president, during his two-day trip to the state, is expected to take on Modi, who had attacked him and the Congress party during his campaigning on Monday.

Gandhi will hold election rallies, road shows and interactive sessions in areas covering the districts such as Bhavnagar, Gir, Somnath, Junagadh and Botad. This will be Gandhi’s first visit to Gujarat after Congress struck up alliance arrangements with outfits of Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and JDU rebels.

During his campaign speeches on Monday, PM Modi had projected himself as a man of humble beginnings while lashing out at the Gandhi-led Congress as promotors of the dynasty. While listing his administrative initiatives in Gujarat, he had also alleged that the Congress governments had neglected his home state.

Incidentally, Gandhi’s two-day trip will complete on the eve of the AICC meet, beginning December 1, which will involve the election of the new Congress president, an exercise that will culminate in the elevation of Gandhi as the new party president.

Gandhi is also expected to visit the Somnath temple, a place that BJP had made its political focal point with LK Advani’s “Somnath-to-Ayodhya yatra”. Sardar Patel had played a pivotal role in the reconstruction of the Somnath temple.

While Modi has made the Gujarat elections a prestige battle to help BJP retain power in a state where he was chief minister for 12 years before becoming PM in 2014, Gandhi is leading a Congress challenge in a state where the party has been out of power since 1995.