New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday claimed that the Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh is a vote for development and trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The claim comes despite the party losing 16 assembly seats in its bastion. The Congress, which gave a hard time to the BJP despite losing its grip on Himachal Pradesh, said the party’s improved electoral performance in Gujarat was the result of their new chief Rahul Gandhi’s effective leadership and the beginning of his victory”political story.” The BJP won Modi’s home state for a sixth straight time and grabbed Himachal from the Congress in a convincing victory. Results showed that the Congress had eaten into BJP votes in Gujarat, a sign that the state is getting tired of the incumbent and eyeing alternatives. The BJP, which held 115 seats in the previous Gujarat assembly, was restricted to 99, though surveys had predicted up to 117. The Congress improved from 61 to 79.

In spite of that Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Prakash Javadekar, said the polls trends reflect Modi’s leadership. Militant BJP leader Sakshi Maharaj saw a “Modi magic.” Home Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that the results are an approval of Modi government’s policies.

The result is Rahul Gandhi’s first defeat as Congress president, said minister Giriraj Singh. “This is a vote for development and trust for Narendra Modi,” said minister Jitendra Singh.

In the Congress camp, while Kamal Nath pointed out that Gujarat is a BJP bastion and Shashi Tharoor appreciated the fact that the journey had been good, Renuka Chowdary hailed Rahul Gandhi for his “brilliant intervention.” “Every election has its own message. Gujarat has been the BJP’s bastion. It is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress tally has gone up there, while the BJP’s numbers have fallen.

This is the start of Rahul Gandhi’s political story,” Kamal Nath told the media outside Parliament.

“Congress has done brilliantly. Our strength has increased. Morally, it has been a brilliant intervention of Rahul Gandhi,” Chowdary said.

She also accused the prime minister of postponing the winter session in view of the Assembly polls and taking personal swipes at opposition leaders during the poll campaign, marking a new low in public discourse.

The Shiv Sena, a BJP ally, meanwhile, saw people’s discontent in Gujarat. “We (the BJP and allies) came to power in the country by citing the much-touted ‘Gujarat model’ (of development). If people in Gujarat are not happy (with the BJP) today, then understand their psyche, understand what people in the country feel,” Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for BJP’s victory in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls.

“Spoke to Narendra Modiji and Arun Jaitleyji and congratulated them on the win,” the Chief Minister tweeted.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party retained Gujarat for the sixth consecutive time, it clinched Himachal Pradesh from the Congress.

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister on Monday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party on the assembly election victory in Himachal Pradesh and retaining power in Gujarat.

Mehbooba Mufti described the election results in these states as an endorsement of the governance and developmental agenda of the Prime Minister.

“These results are an endorsement of his (Modi) government’s governance, developmental and economic agenda. I hope the Prime Minister would give a new impetus to his developmental and political agenda,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.

“Under the determined leadership of Narendra Modi, people of Jammu and Kashmir have nurtured the hope of resolution of many of their monumental problems and difficulties,” she said, adding that “time has come to meet the challenges boldly and ensure a dignified and peaceful resolution of the problems confronting the state so that a peaceful, safe and prosperous future to our younger generation is ensured”.

The BJP on Monday retained Gujarat and wrested Himachal Pradesh from Congress, taking the total number of states where it is in power to 19. The party has Chief Ministers in 14 of these 19 states.

Congress, on the other hand, is now in power in only four states and one union territory. The victories in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat has taken the total states where BJP has formed governments on its own or with allies after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014 to 13.

The states with BJP Chief Ministers are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Goa, Manipur, Assam, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat. The party will now have a Chief Minister in Himachal Pradesh.

The BJP is in power with allies in Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Nagaland.

The Congress is in power in Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Mizoram and union territory of Puducherry.

Karnataka’s ruling Congress on Monday expressed confidence in retaining power in poll-bound state despite its defeat to the BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.