Counting of votes will be held today for the Gujarat Assembly polls, considered a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his home state and a litmus test for new Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
The incumbent Vijay Rupani-led BJP is seeking a sixth straight term in office, the Congress is aiming to stage a comeback in power after being in the opposition for over two decades. on the support provided by Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel and the discontent among traders because of GST and demonetisation.
While BJP is expecting to win the state by cashing in the popularity of Narendra Modi, Congress is banking on the support provided by PAAS leader Hardik Patel and the discontent among traders due to GST and demonetisation.
The results are expected to have a bearing on the 2019 parliamentary polls also as Modi had come to power in 2014, based on the Gujarat 'model of development'.
Right from delayed announcement of poll dates by the Election Commission in October, Gujarat elections have been riddled with controversies. The battle for Gujarat has been closely fought through high-octane acrimonious campaigning, where both the main BJP and Congress parties indulged in no-holds-barred attacks. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the campaign for BJP, while Rahul Gandhi was the pivot of the Congress' electioneering.
During the campaign, Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah trained guns on the Congress on issues like Ram Temple, alleged Pakistani interference in the Gujarat polls and (suspended Congress leader) Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks.
Gandhi persistently attacked Modi and the BJP for "not talking about the future of Gujarat" and skipping key issues being faced by the people of the state.
Congress also stitched about a broad social coalition with prominent Patidar, OBC, and Dalit leaders - Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jigesh Mevani - in its bid to unseat the BJP in power for over two decades.
Patel led a long agitation of his community for reservation, while Thakor led an counter protest against inclusion of Patidars in the OBC reservation list. Mevani raised his voice against Dalit atrocities.
The influential Patidar community, which accounts for around 12 per cent of the state's population, could prove to be the 'X factor' in the polls in which Patel pledged support to the Congress and appealed to people to "uproot the BJP" this time.
As the campaign was nearing its end, "Vikas" (development) took a back seat, and caste and religious issues received prominence.
The two main rival parties also tried to counter each other on social media, as the Congress and its supporters launched the campaign "Vikas Gando Thayo Che" (development has gone crazy), while the BJP launched a counter drive of "I am development, I am Gujarat".
An average 68.41 per cent polling was recorded in the two-phase Assembly elections held on December 9 and 14.
The exit polls conducted by various new channels have predicted a victory for BJP. According to exit polls, BJP is expected to win more than 100 seats and Congress is expected to fall short of the majority getting between 65-75 seats.
(Inputs from PTI)
