BJP has won the municipal body elections in a sweeping victory. The party retained 47 out of 75 seats it had won in 2013. Although this is fewer than the 59 seats it won in 2013, it’s still a tough majority to beat.
The party won 27 out of 28 seats in the prime minister’s hometown, Vadnagar. Congress, on the other hand, saw an increase in its count from 8 to 16. NCP and BSP won one each. Of the total 2,060 seats, BJP won 1,167, Congress won 630, BSP won 15, NCP 28 and the other parties won 18. The independents won 202 seats. In the 10 municipalities where there is no clear mandate as there were many independent winners both BJP and Congress will create bodies.
On Saturday Congress did well during the bypolls. Congress has managed to become stronger in Saurashtra-Kutch regions, of the 33 bodies, they won 3. Of the seven municipalities that saw a change in power, Congress took 5 from BJP, Dhoraji, Bhayavadar, Salaya, Rajula, and Manavadar. BJP took Chalala in Amreli and Dhrol in Jamnagar from the Grand Old Party. 22 civic seats were won by BJP although it lost 2 to Congress. BJP performed well in the urban areas but only won 99 against the target of over 150 out of 182. Congress performed much better than its 2013 performance 630 against 444 seats.
Both BJP and Congress have reason to celebrate. But BJP still has cause to be concerned with the dip in votes. The civic polls set the stage for the real battle in next year’s Lok Sabha elections. But the laymen will have to wait to see how the two parties perform during the assembly elections as well to be sure. The stakes are still high and Gujarat represents only one state in the country. But it will definitely boost BJP’s confidence for winning in the Prime Minister’s home state. Congress if it needs to form a powerful front against BJP in 2019, it will have to pull up its socks and run.