Rahul’s Adani-centric poll campaign fails to move voters in Maharashtra

NEW DELHI: In the run-up to Maharashtra elections, Gautam Adani’s link to the BJP-led coalition at the Centre and in the state was a key theme, whether it was the award of Dharavi redevelopment project or Rahul Gandhi’s jibe at BJP’s ‘ek hain to safe hain’ slogan by dragging the businessman into the picture.

Be it Uddhav Thackeray’s reference to ‘Adani ki sultani’ or the Gandhi scion and his sister Priyanka’s claims that BJP toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi govt to favour the ports-to-power conglomerate, Adani was in focus for the alliance. Sharad Pawar was the only one who had sought to soften the attack on Adani.

The MVA’s allegations, however, do not seem to have clicked with voters. While the US department of justice’s indictment of Adani and his nephew Sagar in a bribery case is expected to give BJP’s rivals ammunition in the winter session of Parliament, the poll outcome has taken the sting out of the opposition’s campaign.

Although Dharavi redevelopment was originally conceived by the BJP-Shiv Sena govt, it was the Devendra Fadnavis-led coalition that got the project moving in 2016. CM Eknath Shinde has said the project was awarded to Adani by the MVA govt. While Congress’s Jyoti Gaikwad trounced her Sena opponent in Dharavi, the haze over the project is expected to lift as Thackeray had vowed to cancel the contract.

Rahul’s attack is a critical component of his now familiar toolkit, where he seeks to link businesses such as those run by the Adanis and Ambanis with BJP, despite the pitch failing to get traction with a majority of voters for over a decade. In 2019, his attempts to portray Anil Ambani as the biggest beneficiary of the Rafale deal had similarly failed to impress voters. Yet, he and his allies have refused to give up on it.

Unlike Anil Ambani, who is now left with a fraction of what he had inherited, Adani has seen his empire expand. It is unlikely that even INDIA govts across states, which have actively courted Adani to attract investment, are going to change their strategy, although Rahul may pull out the pamphlets again.

Courtesy : TOI

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