Rajkot: Chief minister Vijay Rupani’s home town Rajkot handed BJP one its most spectacular victory in municipal corporation elections with the saffron party winning 68 seats of the total 72 in the polls that were held under the shadow of Covid 19 global pandemic.
The Congress was reduced to just four seats, the same number that it had fallen short of majority (37 seats) in 2015 election when the party’s 33 candidates had emerged victorious. The election then was held in the backdrop of a bellicose Patidar quota agitation led by Hardik Patel.
The main opposition party, Congress, was completely routed as the party was nowhere close to even the double-digit mark, drastically down from the 33 seats it had won in the 2015 election that was held in the backdrop of an aggressive Patidar quota agitation.
BJP leaders attributed the resounding victory to the implementation of some key infrastructure projects, including the city’s choice for establishing the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) which is taking shape on the outskirts and perennial flow of water in Aji River due to SAUNI Yojna.
When the polling remained low compared to 2015 elections, it was feared that the resentment over heavy mask penalties, worsening traffic issues coupled with lack of any burning issue, would cause some dent in the party's fortunes. But the results have belied those fears.
Rupani himself flew down to vote immediately after testing negative for Covid1-9 at Ahmedabad’s UN Mehta Hospital where he was admitted after fainting in an election rally in Vadodara last week. His wife Anajali had taken charge of the campaigning and sources said the BJP may have also got some sympathy votes.
In fact, the BJP itself was prepared for some reverses in ward 2, 3 and 16 but the results came as a surprise for many. BJP candidates also emerged victorious in minority community areas like Jangleshwar, the first cluster containment zone that was declared when Covid started spreading in the city.
Kirit Pathak, former deputy register of Saurashtra University and a BJP member said “Vijaybhai’s health deteriorated in the last week of campaign and he could not come to Rajkot for campaigning. Anjaliben shouldered the onus of reaching out to people and was seen campaigning aggressively. This left an impact on the minds of common people.”