Has the Congress shot itself in the foot this time with the chaiwala jibe like it did in the 2007 polls when Sonia Gandhi called Narendra Modi maut ka saudagar? Ten years ago, the BJP turned the assembly election on that one salvo fired by Sonia and whipped up a sympathy wave that swept Modi back to power for a second term.

This time, the BJP is hoping for a repeat performance with the chaiwala meme that Youth Congress posted on social media to mock Modi. The PM has made chaiwala the central theme of his campaign and is projecting the jibe as a personal insult and an insult to Gujarat and Gujaratis.

Smriti Irani started the drumbeat almost as soon as the meme was posted. She said the barb only reflected Rahul Gandhi’s anti-Gujarat mindset.

The Congress must have relived the 2007 fiasco because the high command ordered its youth wing to pull down the meme immediately. But it was too late.

The BJP has been so much on the defensive in the ongoing assembly election because of local anger against demonetisation and GST that Modi hasn’t been able to get going with his trademark personalised and emotional campaign. The chaiwala mishap by the Youth Congress may have given him the opening he’s been looking for to hit the road.

There’s only one hitch. He milked the same theme successfully in the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign. Then, it was Mani Shankar Aiyar who coined the unfortunate jibe and Modi shrewdly exploited the term as an elitist insult to a man from a poor family. Can the same trick work a second time?

Pillar to post

The Congress went from pillar to post in an effort to seek permission to host a photo exhibition on Indira Gandhi at a proper venue. The government blocked its efforts at every point, denying permission even for the use of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. The exhibition was supposed to mark the late prime minister’s birth centenary.

Finally, the Congress had no option but to scale down its plans and compress the exhibition into the grounds of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum on 1 Safdarjung Road. It’s a spacious enough venue but nothing as grand as the IGNCA. Since the bungalow is allotted to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, government’s permission was not needed. The government’s negative attitude turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the function that was held was small but intimate and warm. The Gandhi family was present in full force, including Priyanka who has been out of sight for a long time.

All three mingled freely with the guests who had gathered and smilingly posed for selfies. Of course, the invitees were all Congress leaders and family friends. No-one from the government or the BJP or any other party was invited, underlining the deepening divide in the political class over what should be a collective national historical legacy.

The exhibition displayed photographs of Indira Gandhi from childhood till the day she died.

Outsider woes

All roads lead to Gujarat in the ongoing election. BJP leaders, workers, campaigners and even hangers-on from every state have descended on Gujarat in a desperate bid to be part of the action and impress Amit Shah.

Unfortunately, according to BJP circles in Gujarat, the presence of so many outsiders has introduced tensions because of socio-cultural differences in the style of functioning. BJP workers in Gujarat are very business-like and practical and hate to waste time hanging around in party offices.

Most of them run businesses and shops and have to juggle their economic pursuits with their political work. For the last many elections, the tradition has been that they take time off from work for two months and devote themselves to campaigning for the party. And they work in a functional organised manner.

This time, the influx from other states, particularly from north India, has upset this well-oiled machine. North Indian BJP workers bring a completely different style of electioneering which involves long hours of idle chatter over endless cups of tea.

It has become a headache for local leaders who are spending more time than necessary trying to patch up mounting tensions between fellow Gujarati workers and outsiders. BJP circles say they are missing the authority and command of Narendra Modi. Although he is very much in charge, he is not the chief minister. He is now the prime minister and therefore a step removed.

Gujarat gamble

Congress circles say it is a strategic decision to anoint Rahul Gandhi Congress president in the midst of the battle for Gujarat. The move has been on the cards for some months now but was delayed because the party was waiting for two developments which were crafted to enhance Rahul’s profile and image.

One was the carefully planned trip to the US which included the successful talk show at Stanford University. The other was the meticulously planned campaign in Gujarat in which Rahul has focused in a single-minded manner on economic issues rather than confusing matters by bringing in secularism, communalism and the 2002 violence.

Rahul won praise for his US trip. And in Gujarat, he seems to have struck a chord with his focused campaign. Congress elders led by Sonia Gandhi feel their patience has paid off and the time is now right for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.

They also feel that the position of party president will give him added heft in Gujarat to take on Modi and Amit Shah.

The question is whether Rahul can bring in the votes. If he pulls off a surprise victory, his image will soar. If Gujarat brings another loss for Rahul and the Congress, demoralisation will only deepen.