Hyderabad/Ahmedabad/Shimla: It is Modi march in Gujarat. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won 156 seats in the 182 seats in Gujarat relegating the Principal Opposition Congress to 17 seats and the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) opened its tally in Legislature bagging 5 seats.
With this win, the saffron brigade equals the record-extending seventh term as done by the CPI(M) in West Bengal. As for the vote percentage, it remains as a big win for the BJP which bagged more than half of the entire votes polled in Gujarat registering a vote share of about 52 percent. The Congress vote share is at 26.9 percent, as per the Election Commission (EC). The winning streak cements Modi's bid for a third consecutive term as PM in 2024.
AAP wins Nat'l party status
The Kejriwal's party which was looking to finish second after the BJP came third bagging nearly 13 percent vote share. "I am thankful to the people of Gujarat for helping us attain the status of national party. Very few parties enjoy the status and now we are one of them. Ours is only a 10-year-old party," an upbeat Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
Technically, the Gujarat contest helped the party achieve 'National party' status. EC will have to now recognize the AAP as a pan-India party as it fulfils the criteria of two legislators in four states and three in case the vote share is less than 6 percent. AAP now has two governments- Punjab and Delhi, besides having 5 MLAs in Gujarat and 2 in Goa. In Goa, the party has a vote share of 6.8 per cent.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel defeated his nearest rival Amee Yagnik of the Congress in the Ghatlodia seat in Ahmedabad city by a record margin of 1.92 lakh votes. Patel said the people of the state have rejected the anti-national elements in the Assembly election and once again reposed faith in Prime Minister Modi and the BJP leadership.
"The people of Gujarat have once again reposed faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership. If the masses of Gujarat have elected the BJP, then we have to live up to their expectations. The people of Gujarat have rejected the anti-national elements in this election and have voted for the BJP's track record of development in the state," Patel said.
Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia won from Porbandar, while the party's tribal leader Anant Patel emerged victorious in Vansda in Navsari district. The Aam Aadmi Party's CM face Isudan Gadhvi lost the election from the Khambhalia seat. Firebrand Dalit leader and sitting Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani retained his Vadgam Assembly seat after trailing in the initial rounds of vote counting.
Modi addressed 30 rallies in the state while Amit Shah camped in the state for the last two months making it clear that it was not just a prestige fight rather a clarion call before the Parliamentary election in 2024. BJP has not fielded a single Muslim candidate in a state which has 9 percent Muslim population— and it seems to have done the trick. Their loyal Hindu vote bank has responded to it in a loud and clear manner.
Cong wrests Himachal from BJP
The Congress on Thursday wrested Himachal Pradesh from the BJP as it crossed the majority mark of 35 seats in the 68-member Assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of not voting any incumbent government to power since 1985. In the latest results available, the Congress won 40 seats and BJP got 20 seats and three Independents were also elected. Aam Aadmi Party, which had contested on 67 seats, failed to open its account.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi thanked the people of Himachal Pradesh for the "decisive win" of his party and assured them that every promise made by the party will be fulfilled. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said he respects the mandate of the people and submitted his resignation to the governor.
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has accepted his resignation, official sources said. "We will give constructive support rising above partisan politics but where we feel interests of the state have not been protected, we will raise the issues before people," Thakur said and expressed the hope that the new government will fulfil its promises.
The BJP gave the slogan of "Raj nahin, riwaaj badlega", which translates to "the convention will change, not the government", but failed to buck the trend. Himachal Pradesh has not voted any incumbent government to power since 1985. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked voters of the hill state for their affection and support to the BJP and said his party will keep working to fulfil the aspirations of the state and raise people's issues.
Congress leaders credited party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's campaign in the hill state for the good showing of the party in the assembly elections. Priyanka Gandhi led the party's charge in Himachal Pradesh with several rallies and was also closely involved in strategy planning for the polls. Many leaders hailed her leadership in securing the win for the party and defeating the BJP's election machinery.
"Heartfelt thanks to the people of Himachal Pradesh for giving the mandate to the Indian National Congress. This victory is the victory of people's issues and their resolve to progress. Best wishes to all the leaders and workers of the Congress party. Your hard work paid off," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
