Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, chose his birthday, September 17, to dedicate the Sardar Sarovar Dam to the nation and made a powerful speech to show that the dam would go a long way to give a lot of benefits to the people of Gujarat. Fifty six years after the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahal Lal laid the foundation, the dam was inaugurated now. The Prime Minister spoke of the hurdles the dam faced and indirectly condemned those behind creating obstacles. As a matter of fact Medha Patkar a noted social activist was behind the Narmada Bachao Andolan and it was based on solid ground as the dam displaced tens of thousands of people and thousands acres of fertile land was submerged.
Now the dam will be on poll agenda for the BJP in elections. The Congress has recovered the lost ground in the state and is expecting its victory. At present the dam is of little benefit to Gujarat farmers as the network of canals to irrigate the farm sector is only 20 per cent complete. This will of course be revealed in poll campaign. The party chief Amit Shah will strain every nerve but it is an uphill task for him. While Hardik Patel demolished a major vote bank of the BJP, now Shankersinh Veghela has jumped into the fray with his own party to be launched soon. Thus it will be a triangular fight in the state.
