Gujarat Assembly elections: PM ends poll campaign with a 'splash'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the last day of campaigning for the Gujarat Assembly polls on Tuesday with a splash.

Denied permission by the local administration to hold a roadshow in Ahmedabad because of security concerns, the PM took to the skies, through water. The PM flew in a single-engine amphibious aircraft from the Sabarmati River to Dharoi Dam in Mehsana district in the morning. 

Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi, who was also denied permission to hold a public rally in Ahmedabad and held a press conference instead, termed it a “good event”, but a “distraction” from the real issues facing Gujarat - that of crumbling healthcare, expensive private college education, 3 million jobless youth, alleged irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal and in the business dealings of BJP chief's son.

The 20-minute seaplane journey, in a 10-seater Kodiak aircraft, also led to questions being raised whether rules permitted the PM, who is protected by the Special Protection Group (SPG), to fly in a single-seater plane. “How is that the security guidelines were relaxed for this flight? No Z+ protectee is allowed to fly in a single-engine aircraft, much less the PM of our country. Single engine plane. Foreign pilots. Is there any security guideline that will not be thrown out today,” National Conference chief and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the civil aviation ministry did not comment. A senior Gujarat government official said there was no violation. “All necessary approvals from the DGCA were taken and due diligence followed,” the official told this newspaper.

Captain John Goulet, president of Goulet Aviation Services, who piloted the seaplane, said: “It was a very pleasing experience. I gave him (Modi) a safety briefing. He is a very good passenger. Seaplanes are very common in many countries. It should be popular in India also as you have lakes, rivers and the coastal areas.”

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani termed the PM's seaplane ride a first-of-its-kind in India's history. Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi pointed out that such a service was started in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2010, and in Kerala in 2015. The Congress also produced a Lok Sabha document that said the UPA government had approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route in helicopter and seaplane services in 2009.

Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road transport, shipping, waterways and river development, said Modi's seaplane journey was a “big revolution” in the field of transport. He said a policy would be in place in 2018. 

The PM said effective use of waterways augured well for tourism. He said Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep, the Northeast and places with water bodies, big dams and waterways would benefit with the usage of seaplanes, and these planes could also help in medical emergencies.

Modi boarded the seaplane from near the Sardar Bridge, connecting the old city with Ahmedabad West. A special jetty was constructed to facilitate the prime minister's boarding, and the event also showcased the Sabarmati riverfront development that had been undertaken when he was the state chief minister. In Dhraoi, the PM held a roadshow to the Ambaji Temple in Banaskantha district. The PM said his campaign journey in Gujarat began with the blessings of the Ashapura Mata temple in Kutch, and ended on Tuesday with the visit to the Ambaji temple.

Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi ended his campaigning after a visit to the Lord Jagannath temple. At his press conference, which the Congress said highlighted how their leader was willing to take questions while the PM doesn't, Rahul Gandhi responded to the BJP criticism that he only visited temples in Gujarat. 

“Earlier, I had gone to Kedarnath. Is Kedarnath in Gujarat? This is the BJP's propaganda against me,” he said, asking whether visiting temples was prohibited. Some television channels highlighted that the Congress leader has taken to wearing rudraksha beads, considered auspicious, which his grandmother Indira Gandhi would also wear.

Most opinion polls have unanimously forecasted a BJP win, albeit with fewer seats than the 115 the party had won in 2012, when Modi was still the chief minister. The polling for the remainder 93 of the 182 seats is on Thursday. The counting of votes for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections is on December 18.