In saffron surge, BJP sweeps all four Gujarat regions
AHMEDABAD: The BJP had everyone convinced, almost, that the saffron storm was about to descend on PM Narendra Modi’s home state. Those covering the elections had an idea, not strong enough for this big, unprecedented victory, where anyone who stood in the way of the saffron swag was left swallowing one’s pride.
With 156 seats in the 182-member Assembly, it is a landslide of 2022 as the BJP registered its seventh consecutive win. It is the party’s largest victory in Gujarat since the state’s formation in 1960. Traditionally, there has always been a strong contest between the BJP and Congress in Gujarat, but this time around, AAP’s entry made these elections interesting.
The Congress could win 17 seats, AAP 4 and Independents 4. The Samajwadi Party made its debut in Gujarat by winning one seat in Porbandar’s Kutiyana seat. The AAP has made considerable gains in the Patidar and tribal seats, winning five seats. However, it was the worst show by the Congress this time, where the party failed to capitalise on the gains it had made in the 2017 polls.
No one would have thought that Narendra Modi, who replaced Keshubhai Patel as the chief minister in 2001, would touch people’s heart so deeply. Even critics say Modi successfully implemented a slew of measures to reset Gujarat in the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake. He infused life into a dormant administration and initiated an era of good governance in the state.
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In the 2017 elections, the Congress bagged 77 seats against 61 in 2012 with a vote share of 41.5%, up from 38.95% it garnered in 2012. Failing to build further momentum on its consolidated vote base, the Congress put up its worst performance, with its vote share dropping to 27.3%. The BJP bagged 52.52% votes and AAP got a 12.91% share in the elections.
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However, of the 89 seats where elections were held in the first phase on December 1, as many as 35 seats are spread across the southern districts of Bharuch, Narmada, Tapi, Dang, Surat, Valsad and Navsari. It also includes 48 seats of Saurashtra and six seats in Kutch district. In 2017, the BJP had managed to win 25 of these 35 seats. But of the 14 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the region, the BJP could win only five.
In subsequent by-polls, it clinched two additional seats — Dang and Kaprada from the Congress. While the tribal-dominated areas are still considered the BJP’s Achilles’ heel, urban voters in south Gujarat had stood firmly behind the party in 2017, belying predictions that it will face a route in Surat city.
In 2022, BJP has won 31 out of 35 seats while Congress has retained only two seats and AAP one and another seat has gone to an Independent candidate.
The battle for Saurashtra was tougher because Morbi’s bridge collapse on October 30 disturbed the equations for the BJP’. Due to the pro-BJP tilt of Patidar voters in Saurashtra, the BJP’s seats have steadily increased over the last two and a half decades. In his election campaign, the Prime Minister had given importance to Saurashtra in his Gujarat tour to marginalise the possible losses.