The foolishness of Congress rebels Raghavji Patel and Bholabhai Gohil not only saved the face of the Congress but also proved that the Election Commission is not a caged parrot unlike some of the other so-called independent institutions whose actions we have seen recently (“Unseemly contest,” August 10). That the EC stood firm in its political neutrality despite visits by central Ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party to its office to put pressure on it to validate the two votes is commendable. The BJP has suffered an embarrassment in these elections.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad
Ahmed Patel’s victory has reaffirmed our faith in democracy, but more importantly this is a victory against muscle power and money power. Though the BJP is in power in a majority of the States, its recent attempts to capture power either by hook or by crook in other States does not show it in great light.
Neither does Mr. Patel’s victory signal a smooth ride for the Congress in the Assembly elections in Gujarat. The party is still plagued by factionalism and other issues. Moreover, it is a blow to the party that three Congress MLAs have moved to the BJP (with seven others set to join) and Shankersinh Vaghela has quit. Mr. Vaghela enjoys huge support among his followers in Gujarat. It is going to be a big challenge for the Congress to lead the party to victory under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
Jayant Mukherjee,
Kolkata
The BJP hasn’t exactly crowned itself with political dignity. This episode shows that the party can go to any length to stall any step forward by the Congress. What would have been an ordinary election has been converted into an extraordinary one by the BJP and has unnecessarily been projected as a battle between Amit Shah and Sonia Gandhi.
The BJP has once again proved that it is not a party with a difference. Political morality was its USP during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani era. The present duo only cares about winning elections, not the means to win them.
V.N. Gopal,
Chennai