<p class="byline">The BJP is unable to take its eyes off Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during campaigning in Gujarat, though the party asserted that it will win the polls.</p>.<p>Whether it is Rahul's temple visits or attacks on the way GST was implemented, the Congress vice-president is on senior BJP leaders' mind and radar all through their campaign.</p>.<p>BJP strategists attribute this to two reasons. One, Rahul and the Congress have distinctly avoided their "secular" issues to target the BJP.</p>.<p>Instead, they have tried to showcase the Congress vice-president's visits to temples (without corresponding visits to any Muslim religious places) as a proof of its "soft-Hindutva" approach.</p>.<p>Secondly, the Congress' campaign has forced Modi and his ministers to respond to all the issues raised by it because of serious anti-incumbency factors working against its ministers and MLAs.</p>.<p>Whether it is the rollout of GST, demonetisation or banks being burdened with mountains of non-performing assets (NPA), Rahul has blamed the Modi government squarely, accusing it of mishandling all vital matters.</p>.<p>Several Union ministers, including Arun Jaitley, have been deployed regularly to issue clarifications and rebuttals.</p>.<p>As a strategy, initially, the Congress and Rahul consciously stayed away from personally attacking Modi.</p>.<p>Instead, the Opposition party said they were taking on the prime minister over his much-trumpeted Gujarat model of development.</p>.<p>Rahul's definition of GST - Gabbar Singh Tax - at a rally in Gandhinagar had the BJP on the defensive.</p>.<p>Modi and other ministers attempted to reassure traders through dialogues and announcements about minimising their burden.</p>.<p>Finally, the BJP strategists say they got a breather when the Youth Congress' meme mocking 'chai wallah' went viral.</p>.<p>The Congress sought to immediately distance itself from the post.</p>.<p>But the BJP found it handy as the meme was posted by Yuva Desh, the official Twitter account of the Youth Congress' e-magazine.</p>.<p>A day before Advisor to US President Donald Trump, Ivanka, hailed the prime minister's journey from a humble tea seller to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Modi raised the temperature on the issue.</p>.<p>Calling himself a "son of the soil", Modi told the gathering in Rajkot: "I am a chai wallah. I sell tea but I will never commit the sin of selling the country."</p>.<p>An old rhetoric but the prime minister thought he had made his point forcefully.</p>.<p>The latest round of the campaign war on Wednesday saw a new row over Rahul's name being added to the "non-Hindu" visitors' book at the Somnath temple.</p>.<p>The Congress claimed the register book is fake and accused the BJP of diverting attention from "real issues".</p>.<p>Referring to Rahul's visit to the temple, Modi said: "Thanks to Modi, Rahul has visited 21 temples in Gujarat."</p>
<p class="byline">The BJP is unable to take its eyes off Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during campaigning in Gujarat, though the party asserted that it will win the polls.</p>.<p>Whether it is Rahul's temple visits or attacks on the way GST was implemented, the Congress vice-president is on senior BJP leaders' mind and radar all through their campaign.</p>.<p>BJP strategists attribute this to two reasons. One, Rahul and the Congress have distinctly avoided their "secular" issues to target the BJP.</p>.<p>Instead, they have tried to showcase the Congress vice-president's visits to temples (without corresponding visits to any Muslim religious places) as a proof of its "soft-Hindutva" approach.</p>.<p>Secondly, the Congress' campaign has forced Modi and his ministers to respond to all the issues raised by it because of serious anti-incumbency factors working against its ministers and MLAs.</p>.<p>Whether it is the rollout of GST, demonetisation or banks being burdened with mountains of non-performing assets (NPA), Rahul has blamed the Modi government squarely, accusing it of mishandling all vital matters.</p>.<p>Several Union ministers, including Arun Jaitley, have been deployed regularly to issue clarifications and rebuttals.</p>.<p>As a strategy, initially, the Congress and Rahul consciously stayed away from personally attacking Modi.</p>.<p>Instead, the Opposition party said they were taking on the prime minister over his much-trumpeted Gujarat model of development.</p>.<p>Rahul's definition of GST - Gabbar Singh Tax - at a rally in Gandhinagar had the BJP on the defensive.</p>.<p>Modi and other ministers attempted to reassure traders through dialogues and announcements about minimising their burden.</p>.<p>Finally, the BJP strategists say they got a breather when the Youth Congress' meme mocking 'chai wallah' went viral.</p>.<p>The Congress sought to immediately distance itself from the post.</p>.<p>But the BJP found it handy as the meme was posted by Yuva Desh, the official Twitter account of the Youth Congress' e-magazine.</p>.<p>A day before Advisor to US President Donald Trump, Ivanka, hailed the prime minister's journey from a humble tea seller to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Modi raised the temperature on the issue.</p>.<p>Calling himself a "son of the soil", Modi told the gathering in Rajkot: "I am a chai wallah. I sell tea but I will never commit the sin of selling the country."</p>.<p>An old rhetoric but the prime minister thought he had made his point forcefully.</p>.<p>The latest round of the campaign war on Wednesday saw a new row over Rahul's name being added to the "non-Hindu" visitors' book at the Somnath temple.</p>.<p>The Congress claimed the register book is fake and accused the BJP of diverting attention from "real issues".</p>.<p>Referring to Rahul's visit to the temple, Modi said: "Thanks to Modi, Rahul has visited 21 temples in Gujarat."</p>
