Narendra Modi’s BJP is going to form the government in Gujarat for the seventh time by winning 156 out of 182 seats, breaking all previous records. Congress got only 17 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (UP), which entered Gujarat for the first time, won only five seats but cut enough votes from the Congress to hand it over to the BJP.
All in all, the political circles are claiming that this huge victory of the BJP is unprecedented for good reason. There are several reasons for that. Being in continuous government since 1995 was naturally supposed to create anti-establishment resentment among the people of the state. But the only sign of that anger was not seen in the ballot box, rather Modi’s dream of development achieved ultimate success by using the fact that he had been in power for so long. For the first time, the BJP was able to effectively defeat Congress in the populous and rural areas.
Percentage of votes
The candidates got votes from all castes, communities and even to some extent the Muslim community. BJP got 52.50 per cent of the votes. Newcomer AAP got about 13 per cent of the votes, but according to calculations, it came from Congress tenants. Arvind Kejriwal could not touch BJP.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel tweeted, “Gujarati people’s unwavering faith in BJP’s governance has won. Thank you, Gujarat.” The Congress’s record for winning the most seats in Gujarat was in 1985, the year after Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Congress got 149 seats at that time. BJP has not only broken that record this time, but it has also crossed its highest number of seats (127 seats) obtained in Gujarat in 2002 during Modi’s chief ministership. That time BJP got 49.8% votes, this time it is 52.50%- Highest ever.
If we look at the last (2017) Gujarat Assembly, leaving aside the past, it will be seen that the BJP has reduced the Congress to dust even in its strength. Congress won 30 out of 54 seats in this region. This time it is less than ten. BJP won 41 out of 54 seats in Saurashtra.
Rajkot won eight out of eight, Bhavnagar six out of six, Kutch five out of five, Surendranagar, Gir, Somnath and Jamnagar districts four each, Morbi, Junagadh, Amreli three each. The BJP won 34 of the 40 seats reserved for the Janjati, which is considered unprecedented by political experts.
Wrapping up
BJP is bringing forward the politics of development above caste as the reason for this record-breaking victory. Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday evening at the BJP office claimed that the people of the state have sealed the continuation of his government’s development. However, according to political commentators, this enormous success has come from a combination of factors, not just one. According to political sources, after the BJP came back from the brink of the 2017 polls, Modi was on the move. At that time such an idea was formed, Sitting in the Delhi assembly, he has moved away from Gujarat.