Click to play videoValsad (Gujarat): As campaigning for the December elections in Gujarat picks up, the language used by politicians has touched a new low.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi has attacked the Gandhi family recently, and AICC general secretary B K Hari Prasad has gone one step further.
At a party rally in Valsad district, the Congress leader indulged in personal attacks on Narendra Modi.
“How can he say anything against Sonia Gandhi? People know Modi was born in a gutter. He doesn’t even know his father’s name,” said Hari Prasad, who is in charge of Gujarat.
In the last five years, Modi has positioned himself as the showpiece of Gujarat. For some he is a villain, the architect of post-Godhra communal carnage. For others, he is the CEO of Gujarat, the poster boy of Hindutva.
And if in 2002, the Gujarat riots transformed Modi's political career, this time he faces a very different challenge - the Congress's is attempting to reintroduce its KHAM caste alliance - which in the 1980's brought the party a lot of success.
The first phase of polls in Gujarat will be on December 11 and the second round will take place on December 16. Counting of votes will take place on December 26. The model code of conduct has come into effect in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh - which will also see a two phased poll in Nov and December.
The Election Commission has assured people belonging to minority community - still living in relief camps - that they will be able to exercise their franchise.
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