The public slaughter of a calf by Congress workers in Kerala has put its unit in Gujarat on the back foot, with the incident happening ahead of Assembly elections in the western State later this year.

The ruling BJP has tried to cash in on the incident, and will, in all likelihood, paint the Congress as ‘anti-Hindu’. While Chief Minister Vijay Rupani tweeted that the Kerala incident had “exposed” the true face of Congress, Deputy CM Nitin Patel warned of strict action against “rioters”.

The issue had sparked tension in Gujarat, with popular religious leader Chaitanya Shambhu Maharaj, of Ahmedabad’s Sola Bhagwat Temple, sitting on a 48-hour hunger strike since Wednesday. With the BJP supporting the saint’s move, Congress workers clashed with them, triggering tension in the area. Police have registered a rioting case against Ahmedabad Congress chief Chetan Rawal and 14 others, apart from NSUI workers who waved banners and allegedly threw stones.

The Congress’ woes couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. Leader of Opposition Shankersinh Vaghela, who has kept his bosses in the party guessing over his political intentions, returned from a trip abroad last week. As if to scotch rumours of him quitting the party, Vaghela — often portrayed as a lion by his supporters — lunched with Ashok Gehlot, the Congress General Secretary in charge of Gujarat. On Wednesday, the duo also met party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi to ‘sort out election-related issues’ that have dogged the party in the last few months.

The meetings, however, seem to have yielded little, with the 77-year-old Vaghela appearing dissatisfied with the parleys on Wednesday. Amid flip-flops, and ruling out joining any other party, Vaghela cryptically remarked: “Today, I am still with the Congress”. He also hinted that he would “tell all” in a day or two! On his part, Gehlot said Vaghela had clarified that he was with the Congress.

The Congress was cautiously aware that Vaghela and his supporters could switch sides before the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled on June 8, thereby preventing senior party leader Ahmed Patel from being re-elected. However, with the Election Commission deferring the polls indefinitely, the party breathed easy, albeit until the Kerala incident rocked the boat again.

BJP eyes tribal vote

BJP President Amit Shah kicked off a four-day tour of tribal areas of the State on Wednesday, in a bid to wrest them from the Congress. He also supped with the tribals in Chhota Udepur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tour Gujarat in June-end, his 13th visit to his home State after moving to the Centre, to launch the State government’s Annapurna Scheme, which will ₹10-meals to the workers in the unorganised sector.

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