BJP reels under negative vote in Gujarat, Cong triumphant

AHMEDABAD, OCT 1: The saffron bastion in Gujarat crumbled like a cookie as the final results of the civic elections came in on Saturday ev...

AHMEDABAD, OCT 1: The saffron bastion in Gujarat crumbled like a cookie as the final results of the civic elections came in on Saturday evening. Shocks and surprises over, the bottomline became absolutely clear for the ruling BJP: the party is over and the electorate has outrightly rejected the BJP all over the State.

Riding a crest of negative votes against the BJP, the Congress continued on its winning spree, as traditional BJP strongholds fell one after the other. The Congress has bagged 19 out of 23 district panchayats in the State which was much beyond its expectations. It has also bagged 148 taluka panchayats out of a total of 210. The Congress also wrested two municipal corporations from the BJP and a keen contest is on in three other corporations.

Suffering a major blow, the BJP lost the seemingly-invincible Ahmedabad and Rajkot Municipal Corporations, which it had ruled for more than a decade, and was nowhere near a majority in the three Corporations of Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Vadodara. The party, however, managed to hold on to the Surat Municipal Corporation. In effect, out of the 295 corporation seat results declared out of a total of 477, the BJP has won 164 with the Congress close behind, winning 116 seats.

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In the crucial taluka panchayats, on which the BJP had an iron grip till now, the Congress drubbed the ruling party by winning 2,299 seats leaving the BJP with just 1,284 out of the 3,819 results declared, so far. Independent candidates covered substantial ground, mostly denting the BJP, by winning 227 seats, while the Janata Dal (U) took 20, the Samata Party 11.

In the district panchayats, the Congress was surging ahead with 519 seats with the BJP managing a poor 200 out of the 719 seats declared, so far. The JD(U) took four, the Samajwadi Party three and Independents seven.

A major setback for the BJP was losing the Ahmedabad and Rajkot Municipal Corporations. The party ruled the Ahmedabad civic body for 13 years while it was in power for 21 years in Rajkot. In Ahmedabad, the party was trailing behind with 55 seats while the Congress won 60. In Rajkot, one of the strongest BJP forts, the Congress broke new grounds by winning 35 seats while the BJP won 19. In Vadodara, both the parties were neck and neck with the Congress winning 32 seats while the BJP managed to lead by 35.