'One can feel a mood for change across Gujarat'

Stating that 'mass disenchantment' feeling had set in among people against the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat, a senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Wednesday said his party will use the 'anti-incumbency' factor to defeat the saffron outfit in the upcoming assembly polls.

"There is a mass disenchantment over BJP's failure to fulfill the promises it made before the 2002 assembly polls," said Patel, who is also the political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"The Congress party has been out of power since 1990 and its 17 years of vanvas (exile) is about to get over," he said, adding "now it is turn of the Congress to capture power in the state."

"One can feel a mood for change across Gujarat," remarked Patel, who conducted a string of crucial meetings with the state party workers.

"Our slogan is Sarkar Badal Do (change the government)," he said, adding a change of rule was necessary for development of the state.

Patel also chose to credit Gujarat's development to the Congress.

"Whatever development took place in the state is due to Congress party ever since the state's formation on May 1, 1960," Patel claimed, adding the state's development has been affected since 1995 when BJP came to power.

Gujarat refinery, ONGC, GSFC, GNFC, heavy water and other projects and industries, set up across Gujarat during the previous Congress regimes, facilitated the state's faster industrial development, Patel claimed.

Patel quoted figures from a survey conducted by a national magazine, which stated that Gujarat is behind other states in higher education, school drop-out ratio, poor infrastructure, health facilities, crime rate among others.

"(Chief Minister Narendra) Modi looks after the interests of only five top industrialists. This is being done at the cost of 5.5 crore people of Gujarat," Patel alleged.

The Congress leader, however, refused to reveal the identity of these industrialists.

Talking about pre-poll alliances, he said: "Talks between Congress and other parties, including the NCP are going on. This time all (allied parties) are determined to oust Modi from the power."

Polls will be held in the state on December 11 and 16.