‘Gujarat’s development indicators are dismal’

As campaigning enters its last stage, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy barely sleeps three hours a day and often skips meals. And he is almost effervescently optimistic about the Congress’ chances in the state where recent opinion polls rated Rahul Gandhi far higher in the PM stakes than Narendra Modi. Excerpts:

Campaigning is almost over, do you see any Modi wave?

Not an iota. People in this state want a secular government. They are not taken in by all this talk of the Gujarat model of development. We have our own model and anyway Gujarat’s development indicators are dismal. Modi is a media creation.

Would you agree that Rahul has not been effective and perhaps Priyanka would have been better to lead the campaign?

The Priyanka question has not arisen. I think Rahul represents the youth and that is a positive for us as 70% our state’s population is young.

Has the central leadership given you a free hand in candidate selection?

Yes, it has, but I have turned to it for guidance. I predict that we will get 16-plus seats this time. What happens if you don’t do as well as you expect?

The outcome is a report card on my state. We in the state Congress have taken all decisions collectively. But if we do badly, I will take full responsibility.

Where do you feel the UPA 2 went so wrong?

I don’t think we did as badly as people make out. There are problems with coalition politics which were beyond our control. People may have been upset initially. But as polling date grows nearer, people are turning back to the Congress.

Your own government was seriously hit by corruption in the solar power scam. Your party at the Centre has fielded tainted politicians like PK Bansal and Ashok Chavan. How can you say you are fighting corruption?

Our party has cracked the whip on all corruption cases. As for my government and myself, I am ready to face any inquiry. Bansal and Chavan have not been chargesheeted, so why can’t they contest elections? Central ministers are in jail, so how can you say that the Congress is soft on corruption?