Will Aiyar’s Jibe Affect Polls? The Quint Quizzes Aam Gujaratis

The Quint visited the bustling Ratanpole to quiz the aam Gujarati on the election controversies.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

It’s the final lap of the race to the Gujarat Assembly. And what better way to get a pulse of the electorate than by speaking to them? The Quint visited the bustling Ratanpole market in Ahmedabad to quiz the aam Gujarati on the controversies surrounding the election campaign and whether these mudslinging matches will affect their vote.

Mani Shankar Aiyar’s potshot at PM Modi, calling him a “neech kism ka aadmi”, has not gone down well with the Congress. Modi and the top brass of the BJP have wasted no time in capitalising on the Congress’ slip-up. But though the senior Congress leader has been removed from the party, can the Mani Shankar Aiyar row turn into a last-minute election factor?

On the BJP front too, controversial remarks are but the name of the game. From Yogi Adityanath boasting about the demolition of the Babri Masjid at a rally in Amreli, to BJP MP Anurag Thakur asking if the crowd was getting impatient for a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya – the BJP seems to have made a concerted shift from vikas to Hindutva. Is this going to resonate with the people of Gujarat?

When asked if suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s “neech” remark will affect the Gujarat elections, Suresh Bhrampat, a trader said, “The whole of India is with Modi saab. Nobody listens to Congress anyway.”

On 7 December, Aiyar called PM Narendra Modi a “neech kism ka insaan (a cheap person).” Aiyar, a former cabinet minister, later told reporters that he didn’t mean to use the word “neech”. He claimed his comment had been lost in translation because his Hindi is “poor”.

Only a few days before Gujarat heads towards the first phase of state assembly polls, Yogi Adityanath raked up the issue of Ram Mandir in the disputed site of Ayodhya in a campaign rally in Gujarat.

When asked if this issue from Uttar Pradesh should be addressed in Gujarat’s campaigns, a 21-year-old first time voter said that Ram Temple must be built while lauding Modi’s decision .

(Voices of Gujarat: Tired of listening to netas make promises? As Gujarat goes to polls, The Quint wants to listen to the real voices of Gujarat – the voters. Tell us what issues matter to you this election season. Send in your videos to [e-mail] or WhatsApp @ [phone])