NEW DELHI: Counting of votes for the two-phase Gujarat Assembly elections, that saw the BJP and Congress locked in a contentious battle, has started today.
| GUJARAT ELECTION RESULTS 2017 | Lead | Won | Total |
|---|
| BJP | 50 | 61 | 111 |
| CONG | 26 | 41 | 67 |
| Others | 1 | 3 | 4 |
As per latest information, the current ruling party BJP won 45 seats whereas Congress has won 28 seats.
Polling for 89 constituencies was held on December 9, and for the remaining 93 constituences, on December 14.
Both Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were pressed into service this election season.
The campaigns of both the BJP and the Congress were remarkably high-octane.
The BJP relied on a development agenda and Gujarati pride to woo voters in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state.
The Congress's strategy, on the other hand, included bringing on board three youth leaders - PAAS convenor Hardik Patel, Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, and OBC leader Alpesh Thakor; and questioning the ruling BJP's claims of development.
As far as the electorate was concerned, the Muslim community was conspicuous by its lack of involvement this season, while the Patidar community made its presence felt.
In fact, the Muslim community lamented that this time not even the Congress seemed to talk about issues relevant to them.
The Patels, who make up 12-14 per cent of the population of the state and were once a traditional BJP votebank, seemed to be looking to the Congress as an alternative. However, their support may not be enough to catapult the Congress back to power, exit polls predicted.
The previously burning issue of the 2002 Gujarat riots became almost a non-issue this time, paving way for more economic matters like demonetistion and the Goods and Services Tax.
Both the BJP and Congress attempted to woo the influential trading community. The BJP tried to soften the blows from the GST, even as the Congress tried to leverage discontent resulting from the reforms.
Exit polls predicted that the BJP will retain Gujarat, even as the Congress improves its performance in the state, but not enough to dislodge the 22-year rule of the ruling party.
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