BJP fails to impress in south Gujarat

Results from south Gujarat were not encouraging for the ruling BJP this time.

BJP had held all the four Lok Sabha seats in South Gujarat in the previous Lok Sabha elections, but Congress has managed to snatch two of these seats this time.

BJP has won Surat and Bharuch seats, while Congress has won Valsad and Mandvi constituencies.

In Surat, BJP's Kashiram Rana defeated his nearest rival, Congress candidate Chandravadan Pithawalla, to make it to the parliament for the sixth consecutive term.

Rana secured 5,08,076 votes compared with 3,57,513 votes bagged by Pithawalla, winning with a margin of 1,50,563 votes.

Though Rana has won, his margin has declined by almost one lakh as compared to the 1999 elections, when he had won by a majority of 2.49 lakh votes.

The main reason for this, political analysts say, is Rana's dismal performance as a textiles minister.

Closure of several co-operative banks has also affected Rana's margin.

A senior BJP leader said, "It is true that Rana's victory margin has decreased by 1 lakh. But he has secured over 5 lakh votes this time. He got 4.23 lakh votes in 1999."

In Bharuch seat, BJP candidate Mansukh Vasava got 2,99,630 votes compared with 2,27,428 votes bagged by Congress' Mohammed Fansiwala. BJP won by a margin of 72,202.

Tushar Chaudhary, the Congress candidate from Mandvi seat, defeated BJP's Mansinh Patel by a margin of 1,73,358 votes. Chaudhary secured 3,86,536 votes, while Patel got 2,13,178.

Political analysts said closure of sugar factories has proved costly for Mansinh Patel. In Valsad, Congress candidate Kishan Patel defeated BJP's nominee and sitting MP Manilal Chaudhary by a margin of 44,486 votes.

Daman-Diu was won by Congress candidate Dahya Patel by a margin of 607 votes.

President of Bhartiya Navshakti Party Mohan Delkar won in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, defeating Congress.