The BJP juggernaut continues across India and in Gujarat, as the party has completed its second clean sweep in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. Speculation was rife before the third phase of polling (23 April), that anti-incumbency among farmers in rural Gujarat could spell doom for the saffron party.
However, the exit polls released on Sunday clearly indicated that the BJP would win most seats, with the News24-Chanakya and India Today-Axis polls declaring all 26 seats for the BJP.
The Congress, on the other hand, suffered a massive loss of momentum that it had built over the last two years, especially after it managed to dent the BJP in Gujarat during the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections.
The Grand Old Party had won 77 Assembly seats – however, right at the beginning of 2019, it began bleeding profusely in Gujarat as the BJP started poaching its MLAs. With its numbers dropping in the Assembly, the party’s morale was also visibly low, especially during the election campaign.
The Congress High Command couldn’t read local sentiment, although the party convened the Congress Working Committee meeting in Ahmedabad for the first time in decades, followed by Priyanka Gandhi’s first public rally in March this year.
Rural Gujarat was a weak point for the BJP, where rising discontent was reported among farmers, especially in Saurashtra. The Congress had won handsomely in Saurashtra during the 2017 Assembly elections but could not continue the momentum two years later. The BJP’s grassroots network has managed the rural vote bank exceptionally well, while the Congress workers simply lacked motivation.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani during a press conference held at Gujarat BJP headquarters, Kamalam, congratulated the state BJP leadership and workers.
“The Congress won three states last year but still couldn’t make a dent in the General elections. They raised several issues but bowed down before the nationalistic sentiments of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They could not defeat Amit Shah’s chanakyaniti.”Vijay Rupani, Gujarat Chief Minister
Incidentally, Amit Shah, who is contesting from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha Seat for the first time, won the seat with a colossal margin of over five lakh votes, whereas senior Congress leaders Paresh Dhanani and Bharatsinh Solanki, lost Amreli and Anand respectively.
In fact, the BJP also won four Assembly by-polls in Gujarat, held simultaneously along with general elections on 23 April.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)