Gujarat goes to the polls for local body elections in three days. The campaign was already running hot, then Anand MP Mitesh Patel made it hotter with inflammatory remarks.Patel, a BJP MP, told voters that even if one Congress candidate won from the area, not a single rupee from his development grant would reach them. He would ensure it personally — to teach them a lesson.The remark was caught on video and spread quickly.What made it harder to dismiss was history. A similar video of Patel from the 2022 election cycle had gone viral and drawn criticism at the time. The opposition was quick to connect the dots. This, they said, was not a slip of the tongue.The elections in question are for local self-governing bodies – municipalities, taluka panchayats, and district panchayats. These institutions run largely on government grants. Roads, water supply, sanitation, public health, rural development, all flow through them.Telling voters that funds could dry up based on how they vote is not an abstract threat, therefore.Congress leaders did not hold back. They called it strong-arm politics. One opposition leader described it as “khulaam dabaav” — open pressure on voters.They laid out three specific charges. First, that the remark amounted to voter intimidation. Second, that it represented a blatant politicisation of public funds. Third, that it struck at constitutional principles governing the equal treatment of citizens.One senior analyst remarked that treating public funds like a personal purse directly undermines the idea of equal citizenship.The episode raises concerns that go beyond one remark. Observers pointed to the level playing field in elections, the use of state machinery in campaigning, and the blurring of lines between party and government.If voters begin to believe that electing an opposition representative means losing access to basic services, the question of whether that constitutes a genuinely free choice becomes difficult to answer.The BJP has not issued any detailed clarification on Patel’s remarks. The silence has only added fuel. The controversy has since become a central talking point in the campaign.The BJP’s campaign in Gujarat rests on governance and development. The opposition is now countering with allegations of institutional misuse. Patel’s remarks have sharpened that contrast, uncomfortably so for his own party.A version of this report first appeared on Vibes of India.