Page 2 - Gujarat Elections

Cong forced to look for existence after BJP's record win in Guj: Scindia

The Congress has been "forced" to look for its existence after the record victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the just concluded Gujarat Assembly polls, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday. The BJP has won 156 seats in the 182-member Assembly in the western state, the highest tally garnered by any party in Gujarat's 62-year-old history. The Opposition Congress managed to emerge victorious on just 17 seats, down from 77 it had won in 2017. "Today, the condition of Congress is such that it is forced to look for its existence," Scindia, who arrived here to take part in various programmes, told reporters. Speaking about Assembly poll result in Himachal Pradesh, another state where elections were held recently, he said though the Congress has got a majority in the 68-member House and unseated the BJP, the difference in vote share between the two parties was miniscule. "Earlier, whenever governments changed in Himachal Pradesh, the difference in vote share woul

Gujarat: Month after bridge collapse, BJP wins Morbi by over 62k votes

The collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi town that claimed 135 lives did not affect the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) winning streak in the constituency as its candidate won by more than 62,000 votes. Five-time MLA Kantilal Amrutiya's victory margin on Thursday was almost 15 times that of Brijesh Merja who had won by 4,600 votes in the 2020 byelection on a BJP ticket. This time, Amrutiya managed to win more than 1.14 lakh votes, while his closest rival, the Congress's Jayantilal Patel, received 52,000 and the Aam Aadmi Party's Pankaj Ransariya got nearly 17,500 votes. Amrutiya shot to nationwide fame when videos showing him jumping into the river to rescue people after the bridge collapse on October 30 went viral. He was hailed as Morbi hero. While Amrutiya had won from Morbi five times in the past (he had lost in 2017 and 2020), Congress's Jayantilal Patel had lost five times to his BJP rivals earlier. The contest turned triangular this time with the AAP fielding .

Bhupendra Patel resigns as Gujarat CM, BJP to elect new leader on Saturday

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and his cabinet tendered their resignations to Governor Acharya Devvrat on Friday to pave the way for the formation of a new government

Guj poll result HIGHLIGHTS: Massive victory for BJP, Patel to be CM again

Gujarat election result 2022: Exit polls have predicted a landslide win for the ruling BJP, while AAP could see a 'positive sign'. Stay tuned for Gujarat Assembly election result LIVE updates

Landslide win of PM Modi's BJP in Gujarat polls makes global headlines

Noting how BJP has not lost a Gujarat assembly election since 1995, Japan's Nikkei Asia attributed this win to PM Modi's popularity in the state

Most exit polls get Guj result right, fail to call HP elections correctly

All exit polls predicted a BJP win in Gujarat but only a few got its scale right, while for Himachal Pradesh, most pollsters got it wrong as they failed to predict a Congress win. The BJP posted a historic victory in Gujarat, winning 156 seats in the 182-member state assembly. The Congress party finished second, winning a paltry 17 seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party bagged just five. The Aaj Tak-Axis My India exit poll nearly got it right as it had predicted 129-151 seats for the BJP, 16-30 seats for the Congress and 9-21 seats for the AAP. News 24-Today's Chanakya also was close in its prediction as it had projected an average of 150 seats for the BJP, 19 for the Congress and 11 for the AAP. Both pollsters were a little off the mark in predicting the AAP's seats. All pollsters called the result right but failed to accurately predict the scale. While ABP News C-Voter had predicted 128-140 seats for the BJP, 31-43 for the Congress and 3-11 for the AAP, the News X-Jan Ki Baat exit pol

Gujarat polls: Away in 2017, Patidars back BJP to the hilt in 2022

The Patidar community, a section of which had voted against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2017 Assembly polls held in the backdrop of the quota agitation in Gujarat, returned to the ruling outfit in the just concluded polls as it won almost all the seats dominated by the influential social group in 2022. The BJP has done extremely well in the Patidar-dominated constituencies of the state, winning almost every seat that has significant Patel population. Polling for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly took place on December 1 and 5, and votes were counted on December 8. In the Saurashtra region, the Congress had won Patidar-dominated seats of Morbi, Tankara, Dhoraji and Amreli, among others in 2017. However, all these Assembly segments this time went in the BJP's kitty. In Patidar-dominated Surat, where the AAP was banking on the community to bag a few seats, the social group by and large backed the ruling party. The saffron outfit won Patidar seats of Varachha Road, Katargam

AAP made 'impressive entry' in Gujarat, gave tough fight to BJP: Italia

The Aam Adami Party has made an "impressive entry' into the Bharatiya Janata Party's bastion of Gujarat, giving a "tough fight" to the ruling outfit in the just concluded Assembly polls, state AAP president Gopal Italia said on Thursday. The Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit contested 181 out of the total 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat, but end up winning just five seats on Thursday, securing about 13 per cent vote share. Italia termed the AAP's win in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state as "victory of Kejriwal's politics of honesty" and vowed to make the party a "formidable challenger" of the BJP in Gujarat in the coming years. "It's a historic day as the Aam Adami Party today made an impressive entry into Gujarat, which is the BJP stronghold. We gave a tough fight to the rival and won five seats. It's a revolution in Gujarat and victory of Arvind Kejriwal's honest politics," he said at a press conference in Surat. The AAP's Gujarat unit chief, who contested from the Katargam Assemb

Best of BS Opinion: Winning ways, the end of Covid Zero, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

AAP becoming national party thanks to people of Gujarat: Manish Sisodia

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said the Aam Aadmi Party is on course to become a national party thanks to the votes given by the people of Gujarat. With counting of votes crossing the halfway mark in most constituencies of Gujarat, the BJP has received 53 per cent of the votes counted, while the Congress has 27 per cent and the AAP 13 per cent. "Due to the votes given by the people of Gujarat, the AAP is today becoming a national party. The politics of education and health is making a mark for the first time in the country. Congratulations to the entire country on this," he said in a tweet in Hindi. The BJP appeared headed for a landslide victory in Gujarat as the latest trends showed the party was leading in 155 of the state's 182 Assembly seats that went to polls earlier this month. The Congress was seen finishing a distant second, with leads in 18 seats, while the AAP was leading in six seats. Others, including independent candidate, were ahead in three

Off the mark: Pollsters faltered in Gujarat again, and in Himachal as well

In Gujarat, the number of seats won on smaller margins had redu­ced

Three polls, three parties, three outcomes

In the shadow of their triumphs, the limitations of the Modi magic outside Gujarat, and of Kejriwal beyond Delhi, have been exposed

Gujarat election result 2022: Bhupendra Patel firmly in the saddle

Patel's work was hyper-local - which left leaders like Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to emphasise how the BJP had managed to propel India to the centre stage globally

Gujarat results testament to PM Modi's politics of development: Nadda

The BJP's victory in the Gujarat assembly polls is a testament to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's politics of development, party president JP Nadda said on Thursday as he mocked the Aam Aadmi Party saying both its chief ministerial candidate and state unit head lost the elections. Nadda thanked the BJP workers for their hard work in Himachal Pradesh also, where the party lost to the Congress, saying the "raj may have changed, but 'riwaz' also changed as there was a gap of less than 1 per cent in vote share of the top two parties". In his address to BJP workers at the party headquarters in the presence of Modi and other senior leaders, Nadda also complimented the party workers from Delhi too for a spirited show in MCD elections, saying the AAP government in the national capital created hurdles in the functioning of civic bodies which were ruled by the BJP. Hailing Modi's leadership, Nadda said the overwhelming majority in Gujarat has made clear the people of the state believe in the .

AAP made 'impressive entry' in Guj, gave tough fight to BJP: State chief

The Aam Adami Party has made an "impressive entry' into the Bharatiya Janata Party's bastion of Gujarat, giving a "tough fight" to the ruling outfit in the just concluded Assembly polls, state AAP president Gopal Italia said on Thursday. The Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit contested 181 out of the total 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat, but end up winning just five seats on Thursday, securing about 13 per cent vote share. Italia termed the AAP's win in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state as "victory of Kejriwal's politics of honesty" and vowed to make the party a "formidable challenger" of the BJP in Gujarat in the coming years. "It's a historic day as the Aam Adami Party today made an impressive entry into Gujarat, which is the BJP stronghold. We gave a tough fight to the rival and won five seats. It's a revolution in Gujarat and victory of Arvind Kejriwal's honest politics," he said at a press conference in Surat. The AAP's Gujarat unit chief, who contested from the Katargam Assemb

Results show all sections supporting BJP; rivals exploiting faultlines: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday the results of two state assembly elections and several bypolls highlight people's support to the BJP's vision and commitment to development rising above social "faultlines", which he said were "being exploited" by rival parties for political gains. India's future can be made bright not by raising faultlines but by erasing them, he said in his address to BJP workers at the party's headquarters after the BJP wrote new records in his home state by winning over 155 seats and fetching over 52 per cent of votes. The BJP lost to the Congress in Himachal Pradesh though. While the people of Gujarat have "broken records in breaking new records", the BJP fell behind the Congress by less than one per cent votes in Himachal Pradesh, he noted and said his party's win in Kurhani bypoll in Bihar against the combined might of the grand alliance of the RJD-JD(U)-Congress is an indication of the times to come in the state. In an apparent attack on the

Gujarat win has sounded bugle for BJP's success in 2024 LS poll : Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Thursday claimed that BJP's win in Gujarat Assembly poll has sounded the bugle for the party's success in the 2024 general election. The people of Gujarat, where BJP recorded seventh win in the assembly poll, have showered their love and admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said. "Gujarat Bugle for India! By showering (sic) this historic mandate out of their love and admiration for Hon PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, people have shown the path for 2024," Sarma tweeted. The "historic" mandate in Gujarat was the result of development in the state and vision of Prime Minister Modi, the strategy of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, guidance by BJP President J P Nadda and good governance of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel, he said. Sarma, who had himself campaigned for BJP in Gujarat before the poll, also congratulated the party workers and leaders of Gujarat for the "amazing win''. The Assam chief minister visited Gujarat twice bef

Gujarat election result will not impact 2024 LS polls in Bengal: TMC

Ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on Thursday asserted that the BJP's landslide victory in Gujarat assembly elections will not have any impact on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the eastern state. The Mamata Banerjee-led party, however, said it will analyse the results of the assembly polls that went in favour of the saffron party. The party, on the other hand, claimed that Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh assembly elections showed people's desire for change in government every five years. Opposition BJP in West Bengal, however, said that Gujarat poll result showed anti-incumbency did not work in the western state as people reaffirmed their faith in the "Gujarat model of development", while saying that the setback in Himachal Pradesh will be introspected. Tapas Roy, TMC deputy chief whip in West Bengal Assembly, told PTI, "The people of Gujarat have again voted in favour of the BJP. We will have to analyse the factors and reasons behind the verdict. However, this result will

Support to BJP reflects anger against dynasty rule: Modi during address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said Gujarat has broken all records and created history by showering love on the BJP despite the party being in power in the state for 25 years. Addressing party workers here, Modi said the support to BJP shows that people's anger against dynasty rule and corruption was rising. He said people had voted for the BJP as it was taking all facilities to the poor and middle class at the earliest. "I am thankful to the voters of Himachal also, where our vote share was just less than one per cent below that of the winning party," he said. "I bow to people. Their blessings are overwhelming," the prime minister said. The BJP was on course to win 156 seats in the 182-member state assembly, its best ever performance in Gujarat.

Overcome with lot of emotions: PM Modi on BJP's record-breaking win in Guj

With the BJP headed to a record tally in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday he was overcome with a lot of emotions on 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 said in a tweet, thanking the people of his home state. Modi also lauded party workers in the state, saying each of them is a champion. "This historic win would never be possible without the exceptional hardwork of our Karyakartas, who are the real strength of our Party," he said. Reacting to the verdict in Himachal Pradesh where the Congress has wrested power from the BJP, he thanked voters of the hill state for their affection and support to the BJP and said his party will keep working to fulfil the aspirations of the state and raise people's issues in the times to come.