Ahmedabad, Dec 18: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite a strong fight posed by the Congress after one of the most bitterly contested Assembly elections. Registering its sixth consecutive win, BJP bagged 99 seats while the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, finished second with 77, 16 more than what it bagged five years ago. Congress’ ally Bhartiya Tribal Party won two seats and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) one. Three seats went to independent candidates.
While the BJP celebrated all across Gujarat and in Delhi, the 99-seat tally was far less than the 150 BJP president Amit Shah had set for the party to win and 16 less than what it got in 2012 despite intense campaigning by PM Modi. As the vote count began at 8:00 am, at one point the Congress leads went past the BJP’s, giving a scare to the ruling party. The BJP, however, managed to bounce back and eventually went past the half-way mark of 92 seats needed to control the 182-member House.
While the BJP dominated in South, Central and North Gujarat, the Congress held the upper hand in the sprawling Saurashtra/Kutch region. The BJP also proved its sway over urban centres while the Congress seats came mostly from rural areas. All Congress Chief Ministerial contenders lost — Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi), Arjun Modhwadia (Bokhiria) and Siddharth Patel (Dabhoi).
The BJP is in power in 19 states of the country. The party has Chief Ministers in 14 of these 19 states. Congress, on the other hand, is now in power in only four states and one union territory. After BJP’s victory, PM Modi said the “impressive victories” in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh showed there was strong support for the “politics of good governance and development”.
“Election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh indicate a strong support for politics of good governance and development. I salute the hardworking BJP karyakartas (workers) in these states for their hard work which has led to these impressive victories,” Modi tweeted. “I bow to the people of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for their affection and trust in BJP. I assure them that we will leave no stone unturned in furthering the development journey of these states and serve the people tirelessly,” he added.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi accepted the party’s loss in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat and congratulated the new governments in both states. “The Congress party accepts the verdict of the people and congratulates the new governments in both states. I thank the people of Gujarat and Himachal with all my heart for the love they showed me,” Gandhi tweeted.
The Gujarat election was held on December 9 and 14. In 2012, out of 182 seats, Congress won 57 whereas BJP registered the victory on 119 seats. However, the grand old party was left with 43 MLAs after over dozen of them defected. (With agency inputs)
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