An hour-and-a-half into the counting of votes for Assembly elections in Gujarat, the BJP is racing ahead with a considerable margin. While it has an impressive lead of 130 seats against the Congress' 43, AAP is limited to single digits in its debut show.
Neither the Congress nor the AAP could do anything to stop Modi's magic in Gujarat as the saffron party is all set to form the seventh consecutive government in the state. Early trends show that Congress, which has carried out a silent campaign, is fairing poorer than the 2017 elections.
However, most of the votes counted so far were postal ballots which means the trends could significantly alter as the counting of votes cast through EVMs progresses through the day.
Of the prominent names who are in the fray, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is leading in Ghatlodia while BJP leader and Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel is leading from Viramgam. Alpesh Thakore and Rivaba Jadeja too are leading from Gandhi Nagar South and Jamnagar North, respectively.
However, Congress leader and sitting MLA Jignesh Mevani is trailing from the Vadgam constituency, a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.
Interestingly, though AAP is leading only in 9 seats, it has managed to eat into BJP's votes in rural areas. As many as nine others are also leading.
Gujarat has 182 seats and the majority mark stands at 92.
Meanwhile, celebrations have already begun in BJP offices across Gujarat as senior leaders are reportedly preparing to form a "double-engine government."
(To be updated)