The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday swept the local body polls in Gujarat by winning the Junagadh Municipal Corporation (JMC) as well as 60 municipalities out of 68 and all three taluka panchayats where voting was held on February 16.
This time, the BJP has managed to snatch more than a dozen municipalities from the Congress in a state where the ruling party continued its electoral dominance after sweeping the 2022 assembly polls and winning 25 of the 26 Lok Sabha seats last year.
The Congress won just one municipality, while the Samajwadi Party (SP), a regional outfit, did better by bagging two municipalities.
This was the maiden electoral contest for local bodies based on a 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in panchayats, municipalities and civic corporations announced by the Gujarat government in 2023.
Of the total 60 seats in 15 wards of the JMC, the saffron party retained power by winning 48 seats, while 11 went to the Congress and one to an independent candidate, as per data shared by the State Election Commission (SEC) after counting.
Along with the JMC, elections were also held across Gujarat for 68 municipalities and three taluka panchayats -- Gandhinagar, Kapadvanj and Kathlal.
After the counting of votes, the BJP emerged as a clear winner in 60 municipalities and all three taluka panchayats.
Senior BJP leaders led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the party's victory in the polls. In his reaction after the results, PM Modi asserted that Gujarat's bond with the BJP is not only unbreakable but is getting stronger by the day.
Putting a dismal performance, the Congress managed to win only Salaya municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district. The opposition party retained power by winning 15 out of 28 seats in the municipality, while the AAP came a close second, bagging 13 seats of this Muslim-dominated urban body.
Except Salaya, the grand old party failed to win any other local body.
In the last elections held in 2018, the Congress had clinched 14 municipalities with a clear majority. It also managed to acquire power in Mahudha and Jhalod municipalities with the support of independents.
Now, the BJP has managed to snatch most of these municipalities from the Congress by securing a clear majority in them. Some of these municipalities include Radhanpur, Mahudha, Manavadar, Rajula and Dhoraji.
The SP has won Kutiyana, dislodging the BJP from power, and NCP-ruled Ranavav municipalities in Porbandar district.
The regional party logged the victory under the leadership of SP's lone Gujarat MLA Kandhal Jadeja, who represents Kutiyana in the assembly. Jadeja who was with the united NCP earlier, but switched to the SP ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls and won from Kutiyana.
Out of the 68 municipalities which were up for grabs, 60 went to the BJP, two to the SP and one to the Congress. There was no clear winner in five municipalities - Mangrol, Dakor, Anklav, Chhotaudepur and Bavla.
In the Mangrol municipality of Junagadh, both the BJP and the Congress won 15 seats each out of total 36. Five seats went to other parties, while an independent also emerged winner, said SEC.
In Dakor in Kheda district, which has 28 seats, the BJP managed to win 14, while an equal number of independents also won.
In Anklav in Anand district, which has a 24-seat urban body, the BJP won 10 seats, while 14 went to Independents.
In Chhotaudepur, no party got a clear majority in the 28-seat municipality. As per SEC data, the BJP bagged eight seats and its main rival Congress one. Four seats went to independents, while 15 were pocketed by different parties.
There was no election on 213 seats which are declared 'uncontested' as only one candidate remained in the fray on each seat while all other nominations were withdrawn, said SEC.
In all, 5,084 candidates were in the fray for the February 16 elections to local bodies.
The BJP had earlier claimed it was set to win these 213 seats of various local bodies, including eight of the JMC, unopposed after candidates of other parties withdrew their nominations.
The saffron party had also claimed that it was all set to win four municipalities -- Bhachau, Jafrabad, Bantva and Halol -- as the number of seats declared "uncontested" in favour of it were higher than the majority required in each of these civic bodies.
Thanking the people of Gujarat after the results, PM Modi said in a post on X that this was yet another victory for the politics of development.
"It is humbling how the people of Gujarat are time and again reposing their faith in us. These special blessings give us even more energy to work in service of the people," he said.
Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil attributed the party's victory in the polls to PM Modi's popularity, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's guidance and the Bhupendra Patel government's pro-people work.
Paatil said, "We lost two municipalities to the SP, while one (Salaya) went to the Congress. In comparison to 2018, the BJP added 14 more municipalities. While there is a clear majority in 60 municipalities, we are hoping to get power in five other local bodies with the support of independents." Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel hailed the BJP victory and vowed to continue to work with dedication and zeal for the welfare of people.
While conceding defeat, Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil claimed the party's seats have increased at several places, including in the JMC.
"I think the results are not that disappointing. However, we also need to work hard on strengthening our organisation ," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
