It was the year 1975. In one of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters of all time, a young Dharmendra made a self-referential joke about the plot of Sholay.
Iss story mein emotion hai, drama hai, tragedy hai.
The superstar might as well have been talking about the Gujarat election campaign of 2017.
Here’s a look at the highlights of this action-packed poll season.
Proposal Season
It all started when the Congress went down on one knee. Three times.
Alpesh said “Yes”, Hardik played hard to get, and Jignesh wanted to stay run independent.
But eventually, the scoreline read: Rejections: 0, Acceptances: 3.
The Congress had played a great hand. Geddit, geddit?
Anyway, the proposals were done and dusted. Now, it was time to pray.
Temple Run Gujarat
If there’s one game that Rahul and Modi went crazy playing on the campaign trail, it was Temple Run.
And when Rahul goes temple hopping with such consistency, you’d expect the BJP to be slightly unsettled, right? Soon enough, the “debates” on primetime television were about whether Rahul Gandhi was even a Hindu in the first place.
The BJP effectively said, “Hindutva toh humara copyright hai, hum toh mandir banayenge!”
No kidding. Here is Arun Jaitley saying, “The BJP has always been seen as a pro-Hindutva party. So if an original is available, why would the people pick a clone?”
And then there was BJP MP Anurag Thakur raking up the Ayodhya dispute and promising a Ram Mandir in his campaign speeches.
Vikas Goes Missing
The Ram Mandir mudda is like Soorvayavansham on SET Max. You know it’s going to keep coming back.
And when the BJP gets nervous, is there even a doubt?
Exit the vikas. Enter the mandir.
Gujarat Is Not Vegas
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. What happens in Gujarat, stays on social media.
Intrusive “sex CDs” and embarrassing call recordings found their way to the headlines as the election campaign turned into a leak-fest.
A sex clip allegedly featuring Hardik Patel surfaced and spread like wildfire on social media. Allegations of “character dheela hai” followed soon after. But the sex clip hardly gave Hardik a hard time.
Hardik merely responded: “The people of Gujarat do not want to see the CD of a 22-year-old boy, they want to see the CD of 22 years of vikas in the state.”
And then there was the audio clip in which CM Vijay Rupani confesses to being in a tight spot in his own constituency – also leaked of course.
I mean, can you not have consensual sex beyond closed doors, or even an honest conversation on the phone without being spied on or recorded? Not if you’re a politician in Gujarat it seems.
Also, before you get any further, watch this video to understand why you shouldn’t be calling Hardik’s clip a “sex CD” in the first place!
Mani's Many Controversies
It had to happen sometime. Either the foot had to leave his mouth or Mani Shankar Aiyar had to leave the Congress. So what finally got him the red card from the grand old party? Calling Narendra Modi a ‘neech aadmi’ and kickstarting the war of words of this campaign season.
Fighting for Asmita
Two individuals hold the key to this Gujarat election. No, we don’t mean Modi and Rahul – we mean Vikas and Asmita.
Because whenever the politicians are not fighting about vikas, they’re arguing over asmita. And that’s what it is all going to boil down to.
Who will Gujarat choose? We’ll find out on 18 December. Stay tuned to The Quint and we’ll be your best friend this counting day!
Kthnxbai!
Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
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