Nationalism vs local issues - a dilemma for Vadodara voters

Voters in the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat of Gujarat are yet to make up their mind whether to endorse the BJP's views on 'nationalism' or support the Congress, which has promised to resolve local issues like lack of jobs and affordable education for children.

This urban seat was in the spotlight in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi won it by defeating Congress veteran Madhusudan Mistry by a margin of over 5.7 lakh votes.

However, when Modi chose to be an MP from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and resigned from Vadodara, BJP's Ranjanben Bhatt was given ticket for the bypoll and she won this seat.

She has again been nominated by the BJP from Vadodara.

In her campaign posters, Bhatt has urged people to vote for the nation's security and "to teach Pakistan a lesson". She has also appealed people to boost the morale of soldiers and uproot terrorism.

On the other side, Congress candidate Prashant Patel says if elected, he will solve people's problems, including issues like unemployment and high education costs.

While the BJP claims it is on the right track by invoking issues of national importance, the Congress dubs it an "eyewash" to hide the "failures" in dealing with core issues concerning the common man.

Patel, who is the Congress' city unit president and is fighting his first major poll, said local issues are always important in an election.

"People vote for you to get basic amenities, like better and affordable education. Though the BJP is ruling the municipal corporation for last 23 years, it did nothing. Now, raising the issue of nationalism is nothing but an eyewash to divert attention from its failures," he said.

However, Vadodara BJP spokesperson Mukesh Dixit said, "This is not a local body election, but a parliamentary poll...the Congress needs to understand this. If we had faltered in addressing local issues, we might not have been winning the civic polls here since 1995."