Gujarat civic polls: BJP retains power with bigger win, Congress routed; AAP on the rise

BJP's dominance in electoral politics continued on Tuesday as it retained power in the Municipal Corporations of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar. Despite being in power for over 25 years in the state, BJP vastly improved its performance by winning 483 out of the total 576 seats across the 6 civic bodies as compared to the previous election where it bagged 389 seats. On the other hand, Congress was reduced to a paltry 55 seats from the 176 wins they had secured last time.

Meanwhile, AAP made an impressive impact in Gujarat by winning 27 seats in the Surat Municipal Corporation whereas Congress was wiped out there. In Ahmedabad, AIMIM won 7 out of 21 seats which it contested. It is pertinent to note that 52.83 lakh out of the 1.14 crore voters had cast their votes on February 21, implying an average turnout of 46.08%. Ahmedabad recorded the lowest turnout of 42.51%, while Jamnagar saw the highest turnout of 53.38%, followed by 50.72% in Rajkot, 49.46% in Bhavnagar, 47.84% in Vadodara and 47.14% in Surat.

Here is the Corporation-wise result:

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BJP and AAP express jubilation

Expressing joy after the party's showing in Surat, AAP announced that its supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will visit the city on February 26 where he will take part in a roadshow. Leading the flurry of appreciation for BJP was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who likened this mandate to people's unwavering faith in the politics of development and good governance. Thanking BJP workers for extensively reaching out to people, the former Gujarat CM stated that the Vijay Rupani-led government's pro-poor policies have positively impacted the entire state.

Similarly, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stressed that the election results indicate that Gujarat continues to remain BJP's stronghold. Hailing the leadership of PM Modi, he pointed out that BJP had won over 85% of the seats it had contested. Taking a dig at Congress' poor performance, he urged the Sonia Gandhi-led party to introspect. Meanwhile, BJP president JP Nadda thanked Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil, Rupani, Deputy CM Nitin Patel and party workers for this stupendous result. On February 28, the election to 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats in Gujarat will be held. 

Ex-BJP president Amit Shah remarked, "Municipal corporation poll results show that Gujarat has again established itself as BJP's stronghold. BJP continues to carry out the 'vikas yatra' started in the leadership of Modi Ji. Today the results have been one of the best in Gujarat. The BJP won from over 85% of the seats it contested."

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