BJP Retains Power in Gujarat, but Fails to Achieve ‘Target 150+’
It is indeed a historical win, but is the winning margin really big?
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The BJP managed to hold on to power in Gujarat, edging past the halfway mark to clinch a sixth term in power. The saffron party is going to continue it’s 22 years of rule in the state.
Overcoming initial setbacks in a seesaw battle, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 99 seats, seven more than the magic figure of 92 in a House of 182. Putting up an improved performance, the Congress secured 77 seats while its allies got three more. The NCP, which fought alone, got a lone seat and Independents got three.
BJP president Amit Shah lauded his party by saying that it wasn’t a close contest at all.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he “bows down” to the people of Gujarat and called the elections “historic”. He said that the recent elections results have “proven that the country is ready for reform”, and that the country “believes” in transformation.
On the other hand Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted that Congress’ greatest strength lies in it’s decency and courage.
Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani won the Vadgam seat by defeating the BJP’s Vijaykumar Harkhabhai by over 19,000 votes. While, Congress' OBC face Alpesh Thakor won the Radhanpur seat, with a margin of around 15,000 votes. The newly-inducted Congress leader defeated BJP’s Lavingji Thakor.
Amid the counting buzz, Patidar leader Hardik Patel alleged that the people of Gujarat “meant well”, but “money and tricks” influenced the votes.
This was the first election in Gujarat in the last 22 years that the BJP fought without Modi as its chief ministerial face. Besides anti-incumbency, Dalit, Patidar and OBC agitations put the party on the backfoot. Economic decisions like demonetisation and GST also led to considerable disenchantment among the trader community, concentrated in cities like Surat, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Vadodara.
Although BJP chief had Amit Shah set a target of 150 seats, anything above 100 seats is likely to be projected as a victory for the party's election strategy. In 2012, the BJP won 115 seats in the Vidhan Sabha, and the Congress 61.
But what raises a question now is, what’s next in BJP’s list? Is Karnataka Modi’s next target? Has the win in Himachal and Gujarat boosted their confidence for the 2019 elections?
Video Producer: Hera Khan
Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
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