‘BJP couldn’t give time to MCD polls, but expects good results in Gujarat’

Guwahati: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, who shuttled between Delhi and Gujarat as BJP’s star campaigner, on Wednesday said here that his party could not devote much time to the civic polls in the national capital as it coincided with the assembly elections in the western state and Himachal Pradesh.
But Sarma is confident that the BJP will perform well in Gujarat, where the counting of votes will begin on Thursday. “A very good result is expected from Gujarat tomorrow,” he said, though he did not comment on the party’s prospects in Himachal Pradesh.
While AAP bagged 134 out of 250 wards in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to emerge as the winner and end BJP’s 15-year-long tenure at the civic body. The latter won in 104 wards. “In Delhi, we were being given 60-70 seats in the exit polls but we have done much better,” Sarma said.
“Had the elections in Gujarat and Himachal not taken place simultaneously, we could have focused more on Delhi,” he said, indicating that the results might have been in favour of BJP. Stating that PM Modi’s popularity continues to grow, Sarma said, “Several elections are held within a five-year period. One thing we can understand is that Modiji’s popularity has only been increasing over time.”