NEW DELHI: The Bjp is set to retain power in Gujarat’s six municipal corporations, winning at least 449 of the total 576 seats as of Tuesday night. The count is still ongoing in some districts.
The result will come as a shot in the arm for the saffron party, which suffered a solid defeat at the hands of Congress in recent Punjab civic elections.
‘Great victory’
With the BJP heading for a landslide, Prime Minister Narendra Modi He called the victory “very special” and said it is noteworthy for a party that has been serving a state for more than two decades to record such a phenomenal victory.
He said that the results of the municipal elections clearly show the unshakable faith that the people have in development policies and good governance.
Prime Minister Vijay Rupani and Vice Minister Nitin Patel expressed their gratitude to the voters and BJP workers for the results.
“The great victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the elections of six municipal corporations is the victory of the people of Gujarat.
“This is a great victory for development policy started by the Honorable Prime Minister @narendramodi,” Rupani tweeted in Gujarati.
“Many thanks and congratulations to all the winning candidates, BJP officials, workers and voters of Gujarat for the glorious victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the elections,” Nitin Patel tweeted.
AAP makes progress
While the BJP dominated the civic elections, the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party he also made impressive gains in the state by winning 27 seats in Surat.
In total, the party led by Arvind Kejriwal had presented 470 candidates in the six electoral districts.
In Surat, the AAP has pushed Congress from second to third position.
Party leaders said Kejriwal will hold a road show in Surat after the impressive performance.
Setback for Congress
The streak of poor congressional results in Gujarat continues, and the big party has so far managed to win only 43 of the declared seats.
Former president of the state Congress Arjun Modwadia said the election results are disappointing for party workers.
“The election results of six municipalities are disappointing for the congressional workers in Gujarat. We accept the mandate of the people, but after every dark night there is a dawn. We will work hard to gain the confidence of urban voters,” Modwadia told the agency news IANS.
Congress had lost all Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Following the poor performance, a number of congressional leaders resigned on Tuesday.
Ashok Dangar, Chairman of the Rajkot Congress, resigned. Similarly, Babu Rayka, president of the Surat Congress and Prakash Vaghani, president of the Bhavnagar Congress, also presented their resignations.
(With inputs from agencies)
On video: Gujarat: BJP wins big in municipal elections, ready to retain all 6 civic bodies
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