'Maut ke saudagar' may have hurt Congress

NEW DELHI: Elections are not known to be decided by a remark, but an intense debate was raging in political circles on Sunday on the role Sonia Gandhi’s "maut ke saudagar" jibe may have played in triggering the Narendra Modi clean sweep.

Publicly, Congress leaders contested the suggestion that Sonia may have erred in making the remark, which has since earned her Election Commission’s displeasure, arguing that calling a spade a spade was necessary to lift the morale of the disspirited cadre. They also said that BJP had raised ‘‘communally sensitive’’ issues like Ram Setu from the beginning and would have sought to polarize the electorate in any case.

In private, however, some of them conceded that the description was a mistake that was shrewdly exploited by BJP with serious consequences for Congress’s determined challenge.

BJP, in contrast, had no qualms in admitting that the gaffe was no ordinary goof-up which helped it frame the contest along the lines of its choice.

Those involved with BJP’s campaign management said that the ‘‘saudagar taunt’’, contributed by somebody who will now obviously like to remain anonymous, helped BJP reshape its campaign just when it appeared to be faltering.