Congress to hard sell happiness to woo Gujarat voters

BJP rule in Gujarat has spread depression says the Congress, which plans to come up with ideas to spread cheer among voters.
Amit Agnihotri reports.

If you want to be happy, vote us back to power, the Congress plans to tell voters in Gujarat ahead of the assembly election.

Elections for the 182 seats in the state assembly will be held by the end of this year. For the past 19 years, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been in power in the state.

At present, the BJP has 121 seats; the Congress has 57.

Keen to win back power in the state, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi served as chief minister from 2001 to 2014, the Congress is thinking of novel ways.

As Gujarat is already economically developed, party strategists plan to focus on the human factor.

"BJP rule has caused depression among the people," Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki said. "We want to generate hope and happiness."

Taking a leaf out of Bhutan's happiness index, the Congress' Gujarat unit will come up with ideas to spread cheer among voters.

Coined by Bhutan's fourth king Jigme Singye Wangchuk in the 1970s, Gross National Happiness takes a holistic approach to development, putting as much importance on non-economic aspects as on the economic ones.

"The depression index in our state has increased over the past two decades," Solanki said. "We will promote happiness."

During several weeks of brainstorming sessions, to draft its poll manifesto, the party has identified the reasons for happiness.

With growing prosperity and demands of contemporary life, Solanki felt the number of nuclear families were growing.

Young professionals did not have the support system of traditional joint families. The party would promote traditional values.

Another issue was paucity of jobs, in a state famous for entrepreneurship.

"Things are changing. Many young people are seeking jobs and unemployment is making them depressed," said Solanki.

This was the reason for the Patidar protests last year, he added.

Taking a cue from the success of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, the Congress' Gujarat unit is wooing people aged between 18 and 35 years. The party has started enrolment camps across the state.

If elected, the Congress promises to create jobs. Also, till they get jobs, the Congress would give an unemployment allowance of Rs 4,000 for those who have postgraduate degrees, Rs 3,500 for graduates. School pass-outs would get Rs 3,000 per month.

Gujarat has a population of 65 million, with about 40 million voters. According to Congress estimates, there are about 5 million unemployed youth in the state.

"Contrary to the image of a developed state sold by Modi, industry is down in the state," said Solanki.

The party also plans to woo women, who comprise half the state's voters. It is promising them houses and assuring them that prices of essential items would be controlled.