The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 21 of the 30 seats in the by-polls held to 21 municipalities in Gujarat, said party leader on Wednesday. The saffron party also won one seat of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). The Congress got eight seats, while an independent won one seat. The polling was held Sunday.
According to the Gujarat State Election Commission, the 21 municipalities that went for by-polls include Mahuva and Palitana of Bhavnagar, Deesa and Palanpur of Banaskantha, Dhrangadhra of Surendranagar, Bareja of Ahmedabad, Unjha of Mehsana, Thasra of Kheda, Mundra of Kutch, Jambusar and Amod of Bharuch, Rajpipla of Narmada, Modasa of Aravalli, Anand, Porbandar-Chhaya of Porbandar, Sidhpur of Patan, Talala of Gir-Somnath and Godhra of Panchmahal.
Congress won Anand, Modasa, Deesa, Palanpur, Jambusar, and Palitana. Amod seat went to an independent candidate. The Congress had backed the independent candidate of Amod.
The by-polls were necessitated after the resignation, death or disqualification due to the anti-defection law of respective elected candidates on these seats. Earlier, the municipalities saw 46.22 per cent voter turnout, while the lone SMC seat (Ward No 20) witnessed a very low turnout at 24.17 per cent.
