During his Gujarat campaign spanning two-and-a-half months, Rahul Gandhi visited 27 temples and Congress won 18 seats in these constituencies.Of these 18 wins, Congress succeeded in wresting 10 seats from the BJP - an enviable record.
Rahul's temple run and soft Hindutva seem to have succeeded and beaten the BJP in their own game.
The Congress president launched his Gujarat campaign on September 25 by visiting the religious city of Dwarka He started his three-day 'Navsarjan yatra' by seeking the blessings of Lord Krishna at the Dwarkadhish temple.
Began the three day Navsarjan Yatra in Gujarat with darshan at Dwarkadhish Temple
His attempt to woo the Hindu votes has paid rich dividends.
Though the Congress did not win the Dwarka seat, it was victorious on all these seats where Rahul visited the temples thereafter. They include Umiya Mata temple (Unjha - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hometown), Akshardham temple (Gandhinagar), Khodiyar Mata temple and Sadaram Bapa temple (Radhanpur), Swaminarayan temple (Gadhada), Chamunda Mata temple (Chotila), Ambaji temple (Danta), Somnath, Bhathiji Maharaj temple (Kapadvanj), Vir Maya Mandir (Patan), Bahuchraji Mata temple (Bechraji), Shamlaji temple (Bhiloda), Ranchhodrai temple (Dakor), Kabir Mandir (Dahod), Ranchhodrai temple (Petlad), Unai Mata temple (Vansda), Dev Mogra Mata temple (Dediapada) and Valinath temple
His last temple visit was to Jagannath temple falling under Muslim-dominated Jamalpur-Khadiya constituency of Ahmedabad. Here too the Congress registered victory.
Rahul's temple run had its share of controversies too. His visit to Somnath temple kicked up a row after his name was found mention in a register for non-Hindus. This forced the Congress party to claim that Rahul was an upper caste Hindu (Brahmin) and he is a "janeu-dhari" (one who wears the sacred thread).
Despite
the controversy, Congress benefitted from the temple visits, helping it
to increase its tally from 61 in 2012 to 77. The party vote share also
jumped from 38.95 per cent in the last election to 41.4 per cent, an
increase of 2.45 per cent
Rahul's soft Hindutva politics in Gujarat may have borne fruit but the same tactic had failed in Uttar Pradesh where election was held in February-March this year.
Just as in Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi had launched the UP poll campaign on September 6 last year by visiting Dugdheshwarnath temple in Deoria and getting his forehead smeared with 'tilak'. He had even visited Ayodhya on the fourth day of his yatra and sought blessings in Hanumangarhi temple.
But the Congress came a poor fourth. It contested 114 of the 403 seats and won just seven, garnering merely 6.25 per cent of the votes polled. The party forfeited deposits on 29 seats
Eight states - Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Tripura - will go to polls in 2018.
Rahul's soft Hindutva politics will be put to test again in at least three of these states - Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - which are governed by the BJP.
Though the Congress did not win the Dwarka seat, it was victorious on all these seats where Rahul visited the temples thereafter. They include Umiya Mata temple (Unjha - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hometown), Akshardham temple (Gandhinagar), Khodiyar Mata temple and Sadaram Bapa temple (Radhanpur), Swaminarayan temple (Gadhada), Chamunda Mata temple (Chotila), Ambaji temple (Danta), Somnath, Bhathiji Maharaj temple (Kapadvanj), Vir Maya Mandir (Patan), Bahuchraji Mata temple (Bechraji), Shamlaji temple (Bhiloda), Ranchhodrai temple (Dakor), Kabir Mandir (Dahod), Ranchhodrai temple (Petlad), Unai Mata temple (Vansda), Dev Mogra Mata temple (Dediapada) and Valinath temple
His last temple visit was to Jagannath temple falling under Muslim-dominated Jamalpur-Khadiya constituency of Ahmedabad. Here too the Congress registered victory.
Rahul's temple run had its share of controversies too. His visit to Somnath temple kicked up a row after his name was found mention in a register for non-Hindus. This forced the Congress party to claim that Rahul was an upper caste Hindu (Brahmin) and he is a "janeu-dhari" (one who wears the sacred thread).
Rahul's soft Hindutva politics in Gujarat may have borne fruit but the same tactic had failed in Uttar Pradesh where election was held in February-March this year.
Just as in Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi had launched the UP poll campaign on September 6 last year by visiting Dugdheshwarnath temple in Deoria and getting his forehead smeared with 'tilak'. He had even visited Ayodhya on the fourth day of his yatra and sought blessings in Hanumangarhi temple.
But the Congress came a poor fourth. It contested 114 of the 403 seats and won just seven, garnering merely 6.25 per cent of the votes polled. The party forfeited deposits on 29 seats
Eight states - Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Tripura - will go to polls in 2018.
Rahul's soft Hindutva politics will be put to test again in at least three of these states - Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - which are governed by the BJP.
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