Ever since he succeeded Anandiben Patel as chief minister of Gujarat in 2016, Vijay Rupani has faced rumours that he is likely to be replaced. But Rupani, who is a close confidant of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has managed to survive, and is now all set to lead the BJP’s campaign in the upcoming civic elections, along with state BJP president C.R. Patil.
In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, the soft-spoken Rupani sounded confident about the BJP’s prospects. He refuted allegations that his government mishandled the response to Covid-19 and spoke at length about the achievements of his government.
Excerpts:
Q/Civic elections will be held later this month. How is the BJP’s preparation?
A/ In 2015, we performed badly in rural areas. But the situation looks good this time. We will win most of the district and taluka panchayats and municipal corporations. The Congress has not been able to perform in the district and taluka panchayats where it got an opportunity last time. It has been plagued by infighting and corruption. We will win the civic elections and the 2022 assembly elections. The popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is growing and his government has taken many decisions like building the Ram temple and has also introduced several schemes for the poor.
In Gujarat, we paid Rs17,000 crore as support price to farmers in the last three years, and have brought in a new system for crop insurance. We are giving loans to farmers at zero per cent interest. As many as 1.6 lakh people have got government jobs, lakhs of people have been helped in businesses and to get private jobs. Our unemployment rate is 3.4 per cent, one of the lowest in the country. We have launched several welfare schemes for women.
We have passed laws to deal with anti-social elements and to tackle cases of land grab, have given the anti-corruption bureau a free hand and have fast-tracked cases of rape of minors. We have made online the process to convert agricultural land into non-agricultural land, in order to eliminate corruption. The process, which used to take months, now takes only 48 hours.
In the last five months, we have launched developmental works to the tune of Rs 27,000 crore, which includes the 30,000 MW hybrid renewable energy project in Kutch, the world’s largest such initiative. During the Congress rule, projects used to take years to be completed and the costs often escalated. We invite tenders only after checking everything and the projects get completed in a time-bound manner.
Five desalination plants are under construction, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences is coming to Rajkot. Farmers are getting electricity in their fields during the day, so they do not have to work at night. By 2022, we plan to extend this to all 18,000 villages in the state.
Q/The BJP has been in power for about 25 years. Aren’t you worried about anti-incumbency?
A/ No, not at all. We have performed well. People believe that only the BJP will be able to provide development. Under the Congress regime, development was stagnant. In the last five years, people have seen the Congress rule in district and taluka panchayats. This is why our election slogan is Gujarat makkam, BJP saathe adikhaam (Gujarat is firm that it is solidly with the BJP).
Development is the only issue. We have constructed many overbridges to ease congestion in our cities. Surat alone has more than 125 overbridges. Civic amenities have improved and four of our cities are in the top 10 in India when it comes to cleanliness. People have been seeing things like the Sabarmati riverfront project, the Ahmedabad bus rapid transit system, the Ahmedabad metro and the Surat diamond hub.
Q/What is the focus of your election campaign?
A/ Our focus will be on development. As our slogan indicates, there is no alternative to the BJP when it comes to development.
Q/Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, the Aam Aadmi Party and other smaller parties plan to contest this time. Will it affect the BJP?
A/ This is a cause of concern for the Congress. The BJP has its committed vote bank, which has strengthened further. The votes captured by these parties will damage the Congress. Gujarat has always believed in two-party politics. In the past, stalwarts like Chimanbhai Patel, Keshubhai Patel and Shankersinh Vaghela had floated new parties. But Gujarat did not respond much to them. This time, too, parties are making attempts. But the BJP will be in power and the Congress will be the opposition.
Q/What will be the selection criteria for candidates for the civic polls?
A/ Our effort will be to ensure that more youth get tickets. There is no age limit. Clean image and the ability to win will be taken into consideration. The aspirants’ contributions to strengthen the party will also be considered.
Q/How is the coordination between the party and the government, especially after the appointment of the new state president?
A/ There is complete coordination. We discuss issues and take decisions together. The new president has formed page committees (each page on the voters’ list will have a committee), which will strengthen the party. Till now, we used to have page presidents.
There have been instances of ministers being summoned to the state party headquarters to redress grievances.
It was a new system and hence it was criticised. It was a facility to redress people’s grievances. There is nothing wrong with it.
Q/Do you see yourself heading the election campaign in 2022?
A/ The only leader in the BJP is Narendra Modi and it is under his leadership that we contest elections.
Q/What are the chances of the BJP winning again in 2022?
A/ There is not an iota of doubt about our victory. We will win with more seats.
Q/Initially, your government had received flak from various quarters for your pandemic management. Will it have an impact on the election results?
A/ People are happy with the way we are handling the Covid-19 pandemic. For eight months, we supplied the poor with free grains. We arranged special buses and trains for more than 25 lakh people to return home. Most of them have now come back. We set up more hospitals. Tocilizumab injections were given free of cost (to the needy). We have already spent Rs95 crore from the chief minister’s relief fund.
Our Covid-19 recovery rate has reached 97 per cent and the mortality rate has come down to 1.7 per cent. Our efforts have been appreciated by the Supreme Court, IIM Ahmedabad, NITI Aayog and the AIIMS.
Q/How is the Covid-19 vaccination progressing in Gujarat?
A/ As on January 30, more than three lakh people have been vaccinated. We are trying to get one lakh people vaccinated daily. After covering over 8.5 lakh health care workers and frontline workers, we will go ahead with the vaccination drive as per the permission given by the Central government.
Q/With schools being reopened, when will teachers and students get vaccinated?
A/ We are restarting classes in a phased manner and, fortunately, Covid-19 cases have been declining, while the vaccination drive is picking up. I feel that the situation will be totally under control in two months. Masks are mandatory. According to the Central government, the impact of Covid-19 in young people is very less. At the moment, vaccination is not necessary for them. Schools and colleges are safe.
Q/The Vibrant Gujarat summit had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. Has it affected investments?
A/ We will organise it in 2022. As per the latest reports, Gujarat accounts for 52 per cent of total foreign direct investment received by India. That process continues. Industries are exiting China and we have taken into consideration such factors in our new industrial policy. We are in touch with the companies.
Q/You have renamed dragon fruit as kamalam. Do you plan to rename any more fruits and vegetables?
A/ I do not understand why the media has taken up this issue. Dragon fruit is a Chinese name. In our culture, the word dragon has a different connotation. The fruit looks like lotus and hence we named it kamalam. There is nothing political about it. Let me know if there are other fruits and vegetables with Chinese names.