With Assembly elections due in Gujarat this year, both the ruling BJP and the main Opposition Congress are facing piquant situations on a weekly basis. The latest to hit them are Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s younger brother Prahlad threatening to launch a State-wide strike on the fair-price shops issue, and veteran Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela ‘unfollowing’ all party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, on social-media networks.

On Sunday, Prahlad issued an “ultimatum” to the Gujarat government to meet the demands of fair-price shop owners or face their indefinite strike from May 28. Their demands include subsidised rented shops, sale of LNG under UJALA scheme and financial assistance for the higher education of their wards. “The BJP is waiting for the PM to intervene as his younger brother is involved here,” said a party source.

Earlier too, Prahlad, who owns a fair-price shop in Ahmedabad and Vice-President of All India Fair Price Shop Dealers’ Federation, had criticised the BJP-led NDA government led by his elder brother, putting the ruling party leadership on the mat.

Vaghela, who is Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha, sprung yet another surprise on Sunday. His social-media manager Parthesh Patel said “bapu” instructed him to ‘unfollow’ all party leaders, including Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, and delete all his political tweets from his official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus.

The move triggered all kinds of rumours about his next move and political future. In the recent past, when BJP President Amit Shah and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani called on him at his Assembly office, speculation was rife that he might be ‘accommodated’ by the BJP as a State’s Governor and his son and Congress MLA, Mahendrasinh, could be offered a BJP ticket in the coming polls. Similar speculations are also rife about former CM Anandiben Patel and her children.

The 77-year-old former Gujarat CM, who once mentored Modi in the BJP, has been flip-flopping for the past few months. Recently, he even left a meeting of Gujarat Congress leaders in New Delhi, called by Rahul Gandhi, mid way, and skipped party programmes and meetings called by GPCC chief Bharatsinh Solanki.

On Sunday, he even hinted to reporters that wanted to contest neither the Lok Sabha nor the Vidhan Sabha polls any more, and would “work for the good of the people”.

But his followers, as clueless as anybody else about ‘bapu’s next move, hold the BJP responsible for “misinformation” against him in order to make him a “suspect” in the Congress.

Mahendrasinh later feigned ignorance about why his father ‘unfollowed’ party leaders. “He just wants to serve the people.”

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