The ruling BJP in Gujarat on Tuesday notched a stupendous victory in elections held to six municipal corporations of the state. While the opposition Congress witnessed a rout, the Aam Admi Party and the AIMIM won seats, announcing their successful electoral entry in the state.
The BJP has increased its 2015 tally while the Congress won three times less than the number of seats it had bagged in the last polls.
Elections to civic bodies in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar were held last week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media to laud the saffron party and said that the electorate has voted for politics of development.
BJP state president C.R. Patil addressed party workers, virtually, from the party’s old office in Khanpur area of Ahmedabad.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, too, took to social media to congratulate the party workers and thank the voters. In an exclusive interview given to THE WEEK about a fortnight ago, Rupani had expressed confidence of holding on to power in the six civic bodies, with an increase in number of seats.
While minor details of the defeat margins of the Congress candidates are still awaited, the party certainly lost as many as 34 seats to the AAP and the AIMIM.
In Surat, AAP won 27 seats, mostly in areas dominated by the Patidars who were apparently angry with the Congress for not giving them tickets. The AAP had given majority of the tickets to the Patidars.
The AAP had announced its entry into civic elections in a big way and party leader Manish Sisodia had campaigned in Ahmedabad. In Surat, the party had exposed several alleged scams by the ruling BJP. It had also given a guarantee card, which enlisted things they would do, should they come to power. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party had promised a New Delhi-like administration.
MP Asaduddin Owaisi-headed AIMIM captured seven seats in two Muslim dominated areas of Ahmedabad. The party has joined hands with Chhotu Vasava-led Bharatiya Tribal Party. On Tuesday, Owaisi addressed rallies in Modasa and Godhra.
The Congress has a lot to introspect for the drubbing that it suffered at the hands of all the parties, including the BSP that won three seats in Jamnagar.
Congress's acting president of Gujarat Hardik Patel failed to do anything when the party refused to give tickets to the Patidars. Patel had spearheaded a successful Patidar quota stir in 2015 that changed the political equations in Gujarat.
The success of the AAP and the AIMIM is also important considering the fact that Gujarat has always seen a two party system, with smaller parties not succeeding in electoral battles.
Elections to municipalities, district and taluka panchayats will be held on February 28 and Tuesday’s results are likely to affect the voting pattern.
While the BJP has a strong hold in the urban areas, the civic bodies, elections to which are to be held on February 28, have Congress dominance.
