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AMN / New Delhi
BJP retained power in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat and snatched away Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh.
The BJP walked away with a clear win in Gujarat for the sixth consecutive time, and wrest the hill state of Himachal by a two thirds majority but with its chief ministerial candidate losing his seat, while the Opposition Congress is on way to significantly improving its tally, restricting the saffron party to much below its 2012 tally in Prime Minister Modi’s state, as per the latest Election Commission figures.
Despite defeat in Gujarat, the Congress and its newly-installed president Rahul Gandhi have much to feel satisfied about their performance in the state in view of the fact that it was Mr Modi’s home base and a BJP stronghold.
Political observers ascribed the improved Congress performance to Mr Gandhi’s tireless campaign for three months in the state and its alliances with local Patel, tribal and Dalit outfits.
That the going was tough for the BJP was evident from all the might Mr Modi and his party had pooled in the western state which saw the fiercest war of nerves between the two political parties of recent times.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had so far won 80 seats as against 70 of the Congress, while one seat apiece has been claimed by the Nationalist Congress Party and Independents. Two seats have gone to the Bharatiya Tribal Party in the election to the 182-member Assembly, as per Election Commission figures that had come by 1730 hrs.
The saffron party was leading at another 20 seats and the Congress on six.
In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP had won 13 seats and the Congress 13 in the 68-member Assembly. The two parties were leading at 21 and eight seats, respectively.
In the last elections, the BJP had got 115 seats and the Congress 61
A major upset for the BJP was the likely defeat of its chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was trailing behind his Congress rival with a heavy margin.
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By 1200 hrs, the Election Commission said BJP was leading in 105 seats in 182-member assembly while Congress was leading in 70.
In 68-member Himachal Pradesh assembly, the Congress was set for being humbled with BJP leading in 42 while only 22 assembly segments seemed to have favoured Congress.
A visibly relaxed the Prime Minister had a kick-start to BJP’s celebrations of win in the two states as he flashed a victory sign towards lensmen and mediapersons as he came to attend Parliament session here.
A jubilant BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said “winner takes it all”, while Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters that the mandate in the two states was a clear “endorsement” of the Prime Minister programmes and policies.
In the run up to the elections, Mr Modi had come under severe attack for unleashing a uniform tax — GST and also imposing demonetisation on high value currency notes in November 2016.
Elections in Mr Modi’s home state this year was billed as crucial in more ways than one as the Congress had built up its entire campaign attacking the Modi government’s noteban and half-baked implementation of the GST.
In terms of ramifications — political watchers said the results going either way — could have huge political impact nationally, especially in the context of stability for the Modi government, BJP’s internal power struggle, the future roadmap for Rahul Gandhi and its impact on general elections in 2019.
The Congress, which is out of power in the western Indian state since 1995, was hugely banking on its campaign in Gujarat — also known as a Hindutva citadel — to revive party’s electoral prospects nationally.
The elections in Gujarat also came at a time when the Congress saw generational shift with Sonia Gandhi passing on the baton to Mr Rahul Gandhi as new Congress president.
The Congress had joined hands with caste group leaders Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani and hoped to weaken Mr Modi in his home base by exploiting discontent over a lack of jobs and traders’ anguish against GST, which Mr Rahul Gandhi had even called ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’.
Notwithstanding the change in mood as the day progressed, in the BJP headquarters here and also in Ahmedabad, tense moments were seen as early trends showed a close fight.
“Congress and Rahul Gandhi are the winners even if Congress does not form government,” AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot said in Ahmedabad.
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