Nothing official about it

The subtle campaign was on in Ahmedabad, the Panchmahals, Vadodara, Sabarkantha and Dahod among other places. If some asked people to vote out the BJP for its communal politics, other focused on seeking votes for the Congress ‘‘because there’s no third force in Gujarat.’’

In fact, it was for the first time after the Emergency that so many organisations played a part in the elections. ‘‘NGOs work in all elections, but not on this scale,’’ says Vadodara-based Rohit Prajapati of Lok Awaj. He says what happened in Gujarat forced NGOs to change their agenda because development came to a halt. Prajapati, however, admits that even NGOs were divided.