Gujarat Election Results 2022: As the counting of votes in Gujarat is underway, early trends pointing to a sweeping victory for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home turf. Notably, the saffron party has not lost an election in Gujarat since 1995.
As per the trends till 10:30 am, the BJP was leading in 146 seats, while Congress was ahead in 24 and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was winning 8 seats. Meanwhile, others were running ahead on four seats. The state has 182 Assembly seats and the majority mark is 92.
While the contest in Gujarat has traditionally been between the BJP and Congress, it turned three-cornered this time with the entry of the AAP.
Congress, AAP battles to be the main Opposition party
The results of the two-phase elections, held earlier this month, will be watched more for the performance of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which seem to be locked in a battle to grab the status of the main Opposition party in the state.
If the BJP wins big in Gujarat and gets a majority in Himachal Pradesh, where votes were to be counted for elections held on Nov 12, it will be a huge morale boost for the party, said Sanjay Kumar at the New Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.
It will enthuse BJP's rank and file, and reinforce the impression that the party will win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kumar added.
For the Congress, its role as the main challenger to the BJP is at stake. Thursday's results will reveal if the party's silent campaign has cut ice with people.
The party's campaign, mostly shouldered by local leaders, has leaned on door-to-door canvassing for votes as its leader Rahul Gandhi, who had aggressively campaigned in the 2017 elections, chose to stay away to focus on the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
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BJP had to battle anti-incumbency in state
Notably, the BJP has had to battle anti-incumbency after being in power for 25 years. It is banking on Prime Minister Modi's charisma and appeal to contain anti-incumbency, as he addressed as many as 30 election rallies.
For the AAP, which carried out a high-decibel campaign, the elections in Gujarat are an opportunity to establish itself as a pan-national party and a challenger to BJP at the national level. Emboldened by the victory in the Delhi municipal elections, the AAP hopes its politics of welfarism will be accepted by the people in Gujarat.
(With PTI inputs)
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