BJP Storms Back to Power In Gujarat, Congress Has Majority In Himachal
GANDHINAGAR, (ANI) – BJP returned to power in Gujarat with a historic victory while Congress made a comeback in Himachal Pradesh in the results announced on December 8 which also marked the start of an election season that will see several assembly polls next year in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
The BJP has won 153 seats and is leading in three more of 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, smashing all previous records of electoral performance.
The Congress held its nerve in Himachal Pradesh and won 40 seats in the 68-member assembly.
For Aam Aadmi Party, which won the MCD elections earlier, the results in Gujarat gave some satisfaction though the party’s numbers were far less than the expectations of its leaders. AAP made its maiden entry in the Gujarat assembly winning five seats and its leaders saw a lot of hope in the party getting a 12.92 percent vote share in the state where the BJP has been in power for almost 27 years.
Congress recorded its worst performance in Gujarat and is poised to win only 17 seats, partly due to AAP splitting the opposition vote.
Bypolls to six seats held across five states also gave a mixed result with Congress and BJP winning two seats each and BJD and RLD on one each. Samajwadi Party candidate Dimple Yadav won the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat with a huge margin.
Incumbent Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is set to take oath on December 12. The BJP won the highest number of seats in Gujarat’s history and recorded its seventh straight win.
The BJP not only improved its own record of 127 seats, made in 2002 with Narendra Modi as Chief Minister but surpassed the Congress’ best tally of 149 seats in the 1985 elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was overcome with a lot of emotions seeing the phenomenal election results in Gujarat. He lauded the work of BJP workers in the party’s huge success.
“Thank you, Gujarat. I am overcome with a lot of emotions seeing the phenomenal election results. People blessed politics of development and at the same time expressed a desire that they want this momentum to continue at a greater pace. I bow to Gujarat’s Jan Shakti,” he tweeted.
BJP got a massive 52.50 percent votes in Gujarat with Congress vote share declining to 27.28 percent.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur resigned following the party’s defeat in the polls.
While Congress won 40 seats in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP won 25 seats. Independents won three seats and AAP failed to open its account in the state.
In terms of vote share in Himachal, Congress is only marginally ahead of the BJP having got 43.88 percent of votes compared to 42.99 percent of its rival. Others garnered a 10.4 percent vote share in the hill state. Himachal Pradesh has a long tradition of alternating governments and Congress was on the right side of anti-incumbency. The Congress, which had not projected a Chief Ministerial candidate in the hill state, is planning a meeting of its MLAs in Chandigarh with some of its leaders apprehending “poaching” attempts by the BJP.