[Gujarat voters go to
the polls on Dec. 13 and 17th in a two-part election, when they will decide
whether to re-elect Mr. Modi for a third term. How he fares in this election
could help determine whether he becomes the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's
candidate for prime minister in India's next national elections.]
KESHOD,
India: The prospects of the
Indian National Congress party in the battleground state of Gujarat are
dwindling by the day, analysts and potential voters say, a situation that could
ultimately advance Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's bid to become prime
minister.
Sonia Gandhi, the
president of the Congress party, drew smaller-than-expected crowds in Gujarat
this weekend, just days ahead of state elections, and important party members
and aides have defected in recent weeks. Some supporters say they have lost hope.
"I've been a
Congress supporter since I was in college," said Meena Raval, 44, a
homemaker from Rajkot who holds a master's degree in English literature.
"But there is a vast difference between Congress leaders of the 1980s and
1990s and those of today," she said. "It's hard to win an election,
let alone come to power, without a strong, powerful leader."
Unlike in Rajkot in
early October, when Mrs. Gandhi's rally attracted nearly 150,000 people, there
were only about 15,000 attendees at a rally in Mandvi and 10,000 at Keshod this
weekend. Many seemed to be local tribal women, who were keener to see how Mrs.
Gandhi, probably India's best-known politician, looked than to listen to what
she had to say.
"I didn't
understand what she was saying," said Ramaben Prajapati, 34, a vegetable
seller from a village near Keshod. "But I thought she was very honest. I
was impressed by her personality and body language."
Gujarat voters go to
the polls on Dec. 13 and 17th in a two-part election, when they will decide
whether to re-elect Mr. Modi for a third term. How he fares in this election
could help determine whether he becomes the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's
candidate for prime minister in India's next national elections.
Allegations that Mr.
Modi encouraged, or did not do enough to stop, the 2002 riots in Gujarat which
left hundreds dead, mostly Muslims, have dogged his political career and made
him one of India's most polarizing politicians. Still, the state's ability to
attract foreign investment and build infrastructure since he took power have
gained accolades, and new supporters.
Mr. Modi's
no-expenses-spared state election campaign includes rallies across the state
led by a three-dimensional avatar that speaks in
numerous locations at once.
The political fight
has become increasingly nasty in recent weeks, with Congress party members
accusing Mr. Modi of hypocrisy and lying, and he, in turn, calling Congress and
the Gandhi family a corrupt organization with no other political agenda but to
criticize Mr. Modi.
Meanwhile, key members
of the party in Gujarat are abandoning it. Members of the state's legislative
assembly and hundreds of party officials have switched from the Congress to the
opposition in recent weeks. Defectors include lawmakers Kuvarji Halpati,
Lalsinh Vadodia, Brijrajsinh Jadeja, Bhavsinh Rathod and party officials
Mahendrasinh Rana, Ashok Dangar, Girish Parmar, Asifa Khan Pathan and Poonam
Madam.
The most high-profile
departure has been former deputy chief minister Narhari Amin, from Ahmedabad,
who was at the forefront of the party's election campaign until Nov. 30. On
Dec. 6, he joined the B.J.P., along with many of his aides. Mr. Amin's
defection came after the party denied him a spot on the ballot from the state
capital of Gandhinagar. "As a sincere and senior leader I felt insulted
because the Congress gave tickets to unknown faces," Mr. Amin said in an
interview. "Is this the price of loyalty? There was no way I could have
stayed in Congress after being so treated."
Mrs. Gandhi and one of
close aides, Ahmed Patel, rushed several top Congress leaders from New Delhi to
Gujarat to persuade Mr. Amin to change his mind, but he refused. Nearly 80 key
Congress workers from Ahmedabad and another 100 from across Gujarat have joined
the B.J.P. along with him, Mr. Amin said. "In all, nearly 20,000 people
from Congress across Gujarat have joined the B.J.P. in the last few weeks,"
he said, including mayors and chiefs of district and village councils.
"Congress just
can't stop the B.J.P. juggernaut," Mr. Amin said. "We'll ensure that
Modi makes a hat-trick of a win in Gujarat."
The Congress general
secretary for Gujarat, Kashmira Nathwani, conceded in an interview that there
have been "some cases" of defection and a "feeling of
disappointment in some quarters." Still, she said, "Congress is as
strong as ever in Gujarat and it's all thanks to its millions of supporters and
strong leadership at the state as well as national level."
Participants at last
weekend's rallies, though, said Mrs. Gandhi lacked the vigor and zeal she had
displayed in Rajkot earlier this year.
"I was hoping she
would forcefully answer some of the questions Narendra Modi had asked her at
one of his public rallies," said Manish Chauhan 22, an engineering student
and Congress supporter from Junagadh, who had come to Keshod to hear her.
"But she was a big disappointment. She appeared to be quite subdued and
her attitude was defeatist."
Some voters say that
Congress has given them few reasons to vote for the party, instead telling them
why they should vote against Mr. Modi.
"There are many
issues the Congress leaders can take up, but all the time they are seen busy
bashing Modi and hardly talking about any other serious matter," said
Popat Bharwad, 28, a roadside tea seller from Rajkot, who described himself as
passionately interested in Indian politics and cricket. "This gives Modi
more publicity and gradually distances people from Congress."
Many Congress
supporters in Gujarat now say they can't see their party winning this state
election, or any others in the near future.
"I've always been
a Congress loyalist, but we have to face the reality - we have little hope to
regain power in Gujarat," said one sociology professor from Rajkot, who
asked not to be identified because he did not want to offend associates from
the Congress party. "The problem is Congress just doesn't have a leader of
Modi's charisma and dynamism."
Bharatiya Janata Party
leaders, not surprisingly, agreed. "There is so much defection in Congress
that it will be wiped out from Gujarat in coming years," predicted Naresh
Kanodiya, a Gujarati actor and a former member of the state legislative
assembly for the B.J.P.
["Eve-teasing" is a common phrase
used in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan to cover offences ranging from verbal
abuse to sexual assault, though it is often criticised as a euphemism that
hides serious crime.]
NEW DELHI, Dec 10: An Indian college
announced on Monday it had banned girls from wearing jeans, short dresses and
T-shirts to crack down on sexual harassment, sparking outrage from pupils and
rights campaigners
.
The Adarsh Women´s College in Haryana state,
110 kilometres west of New Delhi, said students would be fined 100 rupees (1.8
dollars) each time they broke the dress code.
"We have imposed a ban on jeans and
T-shirts because these are completely Westernised and (so) are short
dresses," school head Alaka Sharma told the NDTV news channel.
"The small dresses don´t cover students
and that is the reason why they have to face eve-teasing."
"Eve-teasing" is a common phrase
used in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan to cover offences ranging from verbal
abuse to sexual assault, though it is often criticised as a euphemism that
hides serious crime.
"Jeans and short tops invite attraction
and also distract the students," Sharma said in a separate interview.
Skinny jeans, T-shirts and other Western
fashions have rapidly grown in popularity among young Indians, spreading from
cities to rural states such as Haryana, though many older people disapprove of
such clothes.
Pupils at the Adarsh college, which teaches
girls between 16 and 19, complained that they were being punished unfairly
instead of being protected from harassment.
"A ban on wearing jeans and T-shirts
doesn´t mean that there will be no crimes and boys will not pass lewd comments
on you," Ritu, a college student, said.
"Men who want to eve-tease can do it if a
girl has donned Indian clothes also. I don´t think dressing in Indian attire
will bring a change."
Mamata Sharma, head of the National Commission
of Women, told reporters that sexual harassment in India could not be tackled
by ordering girls to wear saris and other traditional styles of dress.
"Our country is progressing, we have
entered into 21st century and it is very disappointing to hear or see such
things," she told reporters.
"The government should take action
against the college management or such institutions who impose diktats on
girls."