Vaghela Develops Cold Feet, Cong May Field Rajesh

The Congress is yet to finalise its nominee for the seat. The name of former Congress MP from New Delhi, matinee idol Rajesh Khanna, was being discussed as a possible Congress choice for the Gandhinagar seat.

Gujarat Congress leader Prabodh Rawal will arrive here today after which party president Narasimha Rao is expected to take a decision.

Even the BJP is likely to field a light weight from the constituency this time. Gandhinagar had returned senior BJP leader and leader of the Oppostion Atal Behari Vajpayee and party president LK Advani in the eleventh and tenth Lok Sabha, respectively. Before Advani, the seat was held by Shankersinh Vaghela. During their Delhi visit earlier this month, Gujarat BJP MLAs had pressured party president LK Advani to break his vow and contest the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha byelection.

The likelyhood of a common candidate being fielded against the BJP in Gandhinagar, seems to be just another extension of the current political alignment in the state. Sources in Congress maintain that Vaghela has had several rounds of talks with Congress leaders in Gandhinagar. He has conveyed to them that instead of concentrating his energy in Gandhinagar, he would like to campaign against the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Polling for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha by-election would take place four days after the last phase of polling for the Uttar Pradesh assembly election. Despite his resolve to inflict maximum damage to the BJP in UP, Vaghela's influence in Gujarat is unlikely to make any difference to the BJP vote in UP. Keeping this in mind, his abstention from the contest in Gandhinagar is already beeing seen as a reflection of his lack of confidence. The present political situation in Gujarat may not be the best for the BJP, but it is still a strong base of the party.

Vaghela would not like to risk his new political career by contesting from Gandhinagar as this could have a far reaching impact on the future of his new political party. His aim for the present is to inflict the maximum possible damage on the BJP.