BJP silences anti-incumbency buzz in Gujarat with another clean sweep

Shattering every notion of an anti-incumbency mood, especially in the agrarian regions, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's homestate Gujarat, for the second time since 2014.

What's more, amid continued counting, late afternoon trends showed BJP secure 62 per cent vote share, up from 59 per cent in 2014, while the rival Congress party retained its 33 per cent vote share of 2014.

Among the biggest gainers were BJP president Amit Shah, who had replaced party veteran L K Advani for the Gandhinagar seat and member of Parliament C R Patil for the Navsari seat. 

Amid counting of votes, the end of round 30 saw Shah record the highest margin for the constituency of at least 555,146 votes over Congress' C J Chavda, breaking Advani's previous record of 483,000 votes victory margin for Gandhinagar. However, among all the 26 seats, by round 30, Patil recorded the highest margin of over 600,000 votes against Congress' Dharmeshbhai Patel for Navsari seat.

For Congress, which had given BJP a near scare during the recent 2017 state assembly elections by bagging 77 seats, the biggest setback came for its two major leaders, Bharatsinh Solanki and Paresh Dhanani for Anand and Amreli seats. While Congress party veteran in Gujarat Solanki was trailing by 197,980 votes, opposition leader in Gujarat Assembly Dhanani was behind by 199,217 votes by round 30 of voting even as the results were still under process.

Political observers and analysts have attributed to poor booth management by Gujarat Congress for its loss. For instance, Vidyut Joshi, a political analyst said that while it was a popular belief that Congress could win at least three seats from Amreli, Anand and Patan, could not cash in on the mood.

"Congress has failed at the booth level. Had Amreli seen a higher turnout, probably Congress' Dhanani could have won but hardly any efforts seem to have been made in booth management. On the other hand, in Anand and Patan, support from communities like Kshatriyas, Patels and Thakors went against it, especially in the latter after Alpesh Thakor's exit from Congress," said Joshi.

Having gone for voting in the third phase on April 23, Gujarat had recorded a higher turnout than 2014 at 64.11 per cent for the Lok Sabha polls.

Incidentally, BJP candidates across all the 26 seats were leading with margins in the upwards of 100,000 votes. Of these, three were leading by over 500,000 votes including Shah, 10 were leading by over 300,000 votes, and six BJP candidates were leading by over 200,000 and 100,000 votes each. 

Meanwhile, addressing the media from the state BJP headquarters at Kamalam in Gandhinagar, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said, "This is the endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule and governance. There was an apprehension about next Prime Minister of the country. But People have shown trust and confidence in the leadership of Narendra Modi. No strata of the society is dismayed by the State or Central governments. This is a victory of the people of Gujarat and India."
BJP silences anti-incumbency buzz in Gujarat with another clean sweep

Takes all 26 seats in PM's home state, secure 62% vote share, up from 59% in 2014; massive win for Amit Shah

Vinay Umarji
Ahmedabad, 23 May

Shattering every notion of an anti-incumbency mood, especially in the agrarian regions, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's homestate Gujarat, for the second time since 2014.

What's more, amid continued counting, late afternoon trends showed BJP secure 62 per cent vote share, up from 59 per cent in 2014, while the rival Congress party retained its 33 per cent vote share of 2014.

Among the biggest gainers were BJP president Amit Shah, who had replaced party veteran L K Advani for the Gandhinagar seat and member of Parliament C R Patil for the Navsari seat. 

Amid counting of votes, the end of round 30 saw Shah record the highest margin for the constituency of at least 555,146 votes over Congress' C J Chavda, breaking Advani's previous record of 483,000 votes victory margin for Gandhinagar. However, among all the 26 seats, by round 30, Patil recorded the highest margin of over 600,000 votes against Congress' Dharmeshbhai Patel for Navsari seat.

For Congress, which had given BJP a near scare during the recent 2017 state assembly elections by bagging 77 seats, the biggest setback came for its two major leaders, Bharatsinh Solanki and Paresh Dhanani for Anand and Amreli seats. While Congress party veteran in Gujarat Solanki was trailing by 197,980 votes, opposition leader in Gujarat Assembly Dhanani was behind by 199,217 votes by round 30 of voting even as the results were still under process.

Political observers and analysts have attributed to poor booth management by Gujarat Congress for its loss. For instance, Vidyut Joshi, a political analyst said that while it was a popular belief that Congress could win at least three seats from Amreli, Anand and Patan, could not cash in on the mood.

"Congress has failed at the booth level. Had Amreli seen a higher turnout, probably Congress' Dhanani could have won but hardly any efforts seem to have been made in booth management. On the other hand, in Anand and Patan, support from communities like Kshatriyas, Patels and Thakors went against it, especially in the latter after Alpesh Thakor's exit from Congress," said Joshi.

Having gone for voting in the third phase on April 23, Gujarat had recorded a higher turnout than 2014 at 64.11 per cent for the Lok Sabha polls.

Incidentally, BJP candidates across all the 26 seats were leading with margins in the upwards of 100,000 votes. Of these, three were leading by over 500,000 votes including Shah, 10 were leading by over 300,000 votes, and six BJP candidates were leading by over 200,000 and 100,000 votes each. 

Meanwhile, addressing the media from the state BJP headquarters at Kamalam in Gandhinagar, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said, "This is the endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule and governance. There was an apprehension about next Prime Minister of the country. But People have shown trust and confidence in the leadership of Narendra Modi. No strata of the society is dismayed by the State or Central governments. This is a victory of the people of Gujarat and India."