Congress woos voters with talk on PM’s ‘broken’ poll promises

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi won

Lok Sabha

polls from Vadodara seat with second highest margin ever in 2014, he had promised to return the favour by developing the city. "But Modi vacated the seat later and didn’t fulfil any of his promises," said Prashant Patel, Congress candidate who is contesting Lok Sabha polls from Vadodara seat this year.


Forty-three-year-old Patel, who is contesting Lok Sabha polls for the first time, is banking on the ‘broken’ poll promises of Modi to woo the voters. "Modi had promised an international airport to Barodians. We have a new terminus but no international connectivity. We have been demanding to name the airport after

Maharaja

Sayajirao Gaekwad but the government hasn’t acted on it too," Patel told TOI.

"This city helped him win with a huge margin in 2014 LS polls but what did Modi gave back to citizens? We should have got AIIMS but it went to Rajkot. No big infrastructural project came our way. Modi had said that he will turn villages in Vadodara into Gokul Gaam but farmers here are facing water crisis," Patel said and added that Modi didn’t keep any of his promise.

A former MS University students union leader, Patel has been holding the post of Vadodara Congress city unit president for last three-and-half years. "I am fighting this election on the issues of employment, education and a cleaner city. Maharaja Sayajirao gave us water bodies, good administration system, beautiful buildings and well-planned city. During Congress rule, we brought in PSUs and set up GIDCs for employment. What has BJP done?" questioned Patel.

"The ranking of MSU has gone down, our education system is in doldrums, fees of schools have gone up. BJP gives more importance to private colleges," he said. When asked what he plans to do for the city, Patel said, "I will try to improve the MSU ranking by overhauling education system and also work on making

Vishwamitri River

clean. We will improve infrastructure in the city."