AAP becomes the largest opposition in Gujarat after the local body election; Congress continues the slump

The BJP on Tuesday swept elections to six municipal corporations in Gujarat by winning 483 out of 576 seats. The ruling party retained power in all the six municipal corporations in the state -- Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. The BJP won 159 out of 192 seats in Ahmedabad, 68 out of 72 seats in Rajkot, 50 out of 64 seats in Jamnagar, 44 out of 52 seats in Bhavnagar, 69 out of 76 seats in Vadodara and 93 out of 120 seats in Surat.

BJP workers celebrate victory at party office

BJP workers flocked to the party office in Ahmedabad on Tuesday evening to celebrate the party’s impressive victory in the municipal corporation elections. The BJP managed to stake claim to 85 per cent of the seats up for grabs in six municipal corporations of Gujarat -- Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, and Jamnagar.

LIVE: . @vijayrupanibjp, @Nitinbhai_Patel @CRPaatil , ` ` https://t.co/VbVHoW1cil

— BJP Gujarat (@BJP4Gujarat) February 23, 2021

People have sent a clear message to Congress: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah told news agency ANI in Ahmedabad, “Congress has lost deposits on so many seats and come third and fourth on many others.”

#WATCH | Congress has lost deposits on so many seats & come 3rd & 4th on many others. By giving only 44 seats, people have sent a message to Congress leaders to do self-introspection. BJP`s win on over 85% seats is a victory of BJP govts` functioning & its principles:HM Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/Qcp8wqBqqG

— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2021

“By giving only 44 seats, people have sent a message to Congress leaders to do self-introspection. BJP`s win on over 85 per cent seats is a victory of BJP government’s functioning and its principles,” Amit Shah added.

#WATCH | Opposition tried to create many types of misconceptions on a range of issues like farmers` protest & COVID-19 & successive poll results have dismantled these misconceptions - from Leh-Ladakh to Hyderabad & Gujarat. Results of West Bengal elections will also be good: HM pic.twitter.com/6D171Bkjkv

— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2021

Delhi CM Kejriwal to hold a roadshow in Surat on Feb 26

 After his party, The AAP, managed to win 27 seats in the Surat municipal corporation elections, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has decided to hold a roadshow in Surat on February 26 to thank the people of the city for voting in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

It isn’t without reason that AAP’s youngest winner in Surat is a 22-year-old woman, who has just started out as an actress in a Gujarati film, Taari Maari Dosti, and has featured in 50-odd Gujarati remix songs. She defeated a sitting BJP corporator by over 12,000 votes in a Purna (West) ward, taking some 23,000 votes.

The Congress party in Gujarat is a party with a death wish.

There can’t be a better description for a political entity that loses as many as 200 seats in elections to various local bodies even before the first ballot is cast. Some seats were lost because the nominations were rejected, more were lost because the candidates themselves withdrew their papers at the eleventh hour.

The malaise in the Congress in Gujarat runs deep, and is visible from how the party micro-manages its state leadership with the chaos at the top percolating to the bottom.