Historic win for BJP in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday posted a historic victory in Gujarat, winning 150 seats and leading in another 6 in the 182-member Assembly. The Congress finished second, winning 17 seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that made its debut with a high-decibel campaign won 5 seats. Independents won three seats and the Samajwadi Party picked up one.

The BJP improved its vote share to 53 per cent from 49 per cent last time, while the Congress vote share fell sharply from 42 per cent to 27 per cent, as a good chunk of its voters appeared to have switched to AAP, which secured 13 per cent of the votes counted.

The BJP not only beat its best showing till date - 127 seats in 2002, but also surpassed the record set by the Congress in 1985, when it won 149 seats under the leadership of late Madhavsinh Solanki. In winning a seventh term, the BJP also matched the Left Front's feat in West Bengal.

Commenting on the results, Modi said: "Gujarat's love for BJP despite it being in power for 25 years is unprecedented; they have broken all records, written history." Crediting Modi with the party's stupendous performance, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel said the people of Gujarat had reposed their faith in him. "If the masses of Gujarat have elected the BJP, then we will have live up to their expectations," said Patel, who is expected to continue as CM

The BJP has not lost an election in Gujarat since 1995. Thursday's big win will be a huge morale boost for the party, said Sanjay Kumar at the New Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. "It will enthuse BJP's rank and file and reinforce the impression that the party will win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," Kumar said.

Although the Modi government is struggling with rising inflation, slowing growth and joblessness, the economic troubles appeared to have had no impact on BJP's popularity in Gujarat. That said, the results of the two-phase elections, held earlier this month, were watched more for the performance of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), both locked in a battle to grab the status of the main opposition party in the state.

While the Congress was not expected to replicate its creditable performance of the last Assembly elections in 2017, the trends showed the party's electoral prospects in the state had been hurt by the AAP more than was feared. The party's silent campaign seems to have failed to cut ice with the electorate. On the other hand, it remains to be seen if the AAP's performance in these elections would help its leader Arvind Kejriwal cement his place as a key challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in parliamentary elections due in 2024.