Landslide for BJP in Gujarat civic polls; AAP makes a mark in Surat
AHMEDABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday swept six key municipal corporations in Gujarat, decimating the Congress in civic body polls in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, shrugging aside perceived anti-incumbency.
The BJP had bagged 489 seats from a total of 576, as many as 100 more than the 389 seats it won out of 572 in the 2015 elections to the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara.
The eclipse of the Congress in Gujarat that started in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections continued with the party winning an apologetic 45 seats vis-a-vis 174 in the previous elections.
The Aam Aadmi Party, meanwhile, walked into the widening Opposition space in the state by making a strong debut, winning 27 seats in Surat, where the BJP won 93 seats and the Congress won none in a 120-member civic body. The Congress had won 36 seats in Surat in the 2015 polls.
Elated by the results, Prime Minister Modi tweeted: “Thank you Gujarat! Results of municipal elections across the state clearly show the unwavering faith people have towards politics of development and good governance...”
AHMEDABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday swept six key municipal corporations in Gujarat, decimating the Congress in civic body polls in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, shrugging aside perceived anti-incumbency.
The BJP has bagged 489 seats from a total of 576, as many as 100 more than the 389 seats it won out of 572 in the 2015 elections to the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara.
The eclipse of the Congress in Gujarat that started in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections continued at the local level with the party winning an apologetic 45 seats vis-a-vis as many as 174 in the previous elections.
Except in Ahmedabad, where it won 15 seats against 165 for the BJP out of a total of 192 seats with three results yet to come in, and Jamnagar where the party managed 11 seats to BJP’S 50 in a 65-member house, the Congress won seats only in single digits and scored a zero in Surat.
The opposition party won eight in Bhavnagar vis-a-vis 44 for the BJP out of a total of 52, followed by seven in Vadodara against 69 for the BJP (out of a total of 76 seats) and four seats in Rajkot ,where the BJP won 68 seats (total 72).
In Surat, the BJP won 93 seats, the AAP opened its account with 27 seats and the Congress won none in a 120member civic body.
The Congress had won 36 seats in Surat during the 2015 elections.
Elated by the results, Prime Minister Modi tweeted: “Thank you Gujarat! Results of municipal elections across the state clearly show the unwavering faith people have towards politics of development and good governance. Grateful to the people of the state for trusting BJP yet again. Always an honour to serve Gujarat.”
Chief minister Vijay Rupani, who is recovering from Covid-19, said: “The election results have demonstrated that anti
AIMIM ENTERED CONGRESS STRONGHOLDS, AND MANAGED TO WIN SEVEN SEATS IN AHMEDABAD. THE BSP SPRANG A SURPRISE BY WINNING THREE IN JAMNAGAR
incumbency doesn’t apply to Gujarat.” The two-phase local body polls in the state are being considered a precursor to the 2022 assembly elections.
The All India Majlis-e-ittehad-ul-muslimeen (AIMIM) of Asaduddin Owaisi, which also walked into Congress strongholds, managed to win seven seats in Ahmedabad city while the Bahujan Samaj Party sprang a surprise by winning three in Jamnagar.
Reacting to the results, Gujarat Congress President Amit Chavda tweeted: “We may have lost the elections in terms of numbers, but our party workers would still go among the people with more energy. We thank the people.”