Gujarat Election Results 2017 | BJP Holds Fort But Not Without Cracks

The Bharatiya Janata Party will form the government in its bastion of Gujarat even after a scare from the Congress which has claimed a "moral victory" in the state. BJP Chief Amit Shah called it a victory of "developmental politics" over "caste-based politics".

The BJP won 99 of the 182 seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home turf. This was less than the 115 seats it won in the 2012 assembly elections. This, after the party had set itself a target of 150 seats.

The Congress put up a much better showing compared to the previous election, improving their tally to 77 seats from 57 in the previous election. However, it is not clear whether the gains came at the expense of the BJP or other parties. The BJP's vote share in the state saw a more than 2 percentage point improvement to 49.98 percent from around 47 percent earlier.

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani secured a huge win from the western Rajkot constituency. He is now the most likely leader to become the chief minister, according to BJP's Amit Malviya. "It is under his leadership that the state went to polls. So I do not see a change happening there," Malviya told BloombergQuint.

Touted as kingmakers, young Congress leader Alpesh Thakor and Congress-backed independent Jignesh Mevani, both won from their respective constituencies. Thakor defeated former Congress leader Lavingji Muljiji Thakor in Radhanpur. Mevani also won from the Vadgam seat.

Patidar-community leader Hardik Patel-backed candidates had a mixed run. Lalit Vasoya of Congress won from Dhoraji, while Bhikhabhai Joshi secured a victory in Junagadh. However, Jayesh Patel lost to BJP's Dushyantbhai Patel in Bharuch.

BJP also secured power in the three key urban centres of Gujarat - Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara - with a clear majority.

Nearly 2 percent of Gujarat's voters - over 5.5 lakh people - opted for the none of the above button instead of voting for any party. The share of NOTA was the highest after BJP, Congress and the independents. This was also the highest share NOTA has recieved in any of the state elections in the country yet.

The high voltage campaigning before the elections had seen both the parties field their big guns. Congress' new president Rahul Gandhi was also its star campaigner in the state while the Prime Minister himself led the charge for the BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it an "historic" win for the BJP. It is "unprecedented" in this day and age, for a party to keep winning for so long, he said in his victory speech at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi. According to Amit Shah, the party will now shift its focus to the remaining four state elections before the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

Congress leaders meanwhile attributed Congress' improved performance to Rahul Gandhi's campaign. Party General Secretary Ashok Gehlot said that it was reminiscent of Indira Gandhi. “BJP, in the home state of PM Modi and Amit Shah, is struggling to cross even 100,” he said at a media conference. Senior leader Kamal Nath said that "every election has its own message" and this polls were "the start of Rahul Gandhi's political story". Former cabinet minister Shashi Tharoor said, "We may not have reached the destination, but our journey was good."

Watch BloombergQuint’s analysis of the Gujarat verdict here.

PM Modi has thanked voters in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for choosing the "path of development", addressing a media conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

"All this proves that India is ready for reforms. We are postively looking to perform and transform the country," Modi said.

He added that Gujarat poll results are historic for BJP. It is "unprecedented" in this day and age, for a party to keep winning for so long, he said.

Also Read: What Gujarat Is Telling India

Nearly 5.5 lakh people chose not to vote for any candidate and going for for the NOTA (None of the above) option instead. This was the first time the Gujarat state assembly elections had the NOTA option.

At 1.8 percent of the total votes, NOTA's share was higher than some parties such as NCP, BSP and BTP. Only BJP, Congress and the independent candidates had a higher vote share than NOTA.

Also Read: Room For Complacency Closes As More Indians Reject Their Leaders

Rupani was declared the clear winner from the Rajkot West constituency. He is most likely to remain the chief minister, according to BJP’s Amit Malviya.

BJP chief Amit Shah has said that the Gujarat polls were not a close as they improved their vote share from 2012.

In 2017, the BJP’s vote share improved to nearly 50 percent. The figure was at around 47 percent in the previous poll.

Shah also remained confident of securing victories in the remaining state elections before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Rahul Gandhi had a “very good” campaign in Gujarat securing “moral win” for the Congress, said Ashok Gehlot. “BJP, in the home state of PM Modi and Amit Shah, is struggling to cross even 100,” he said at a media conference. He called the poll results a win for issue-based campaigning.

BJP has claimed stake to the three key business districts of Gujarat.

Congress put up an improved show in Ahmedabad with their tally up to 6 seats from 4 in the previous polls. The key being a reversal of result in the Dhanduka seat where Congress won. However, the Sanand seat was reclaimed by BJP this time around. BJP is winning 15 seats in the Ahmedabad district, compared to 17 in 2012.

In Surat, status quo remained with BJP either leading or winning all seats except for Mandvi, where Congress has held fort.

BJP has claimed majority of in most of the constituencies in Vadodara. However, it lost a little ground to the Congress - which had won no seats from the same district in 2012.

The two young turks contesting against the BJP government in Gujarat look all set to win from their respective constituencies.

Congress' Alpesh Thakor was leading from the Radhanpur constituency. He is winning against Lavingji Muljiji Thakor, who was earlier with the Congress.

Independent candidate with Congress' support Jignesh Mevani was also leading in the Vadgam constituency.

BJP candidate Suresh Patel has been declared the winner in Maninagar, Ahmedabad. This is the same constituency from where Narendra Modi won in the state for nearly three terms till 2014, after which he got elected as the PM.

Patel beat Congress' Shwetaben Brahmbatt by a clear majority.

Patidar community leader Hardik Patel-backed contestants from the Congress party were either leading or had won in two out of three key constituencies in Gujarat.

Congress’ Bhikhabhai Joshi has already been declared the winner in Junagadh. In Dhoraji, Congress’ Lalit Vasoya was leading at 2:30 pm. Jayesh Patel, supported by Hardik, was losing to BJP’s Dushyantbhai Patel in the Bharuch constituency.

Congress’ making inroads in BJP’s stronghold Gujarat show that the people in the state are not happy with the government, Shiv Sena member and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, said. He added that it also reflects the sentiment of the country’s people.

Congress leader Kamal Nath has said that the party's improved electoral performance in Gujarat was due to new chief Rahul Gandhi's effective leadership.

"Every election has its own message. Gujarat has been BJP's bastion," Nath told reporters outside the Parliament in New Delhi. "The Congress' tally has gone up there, while the BJP's numbers have fallen. This is the start of Rahul Gandhi's political story," he added.

Shashi Tharoor also praised a "very effective" campaign by Gandhi in the state. "We may not have reached the destination, but our journey was good," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

Vijay Rupani is most likely to become the chief minister of Gujarat, BJP’s Amit Malviya told BloombergQuint in an interview.

Rupani is currently leading from the Rajkot West constituency.

The BJP has managed to maintain its vote share from the 2012 polls while the Congress has seen an increase from the previous poll.

Congress's Arjun Modhwadiya loses from Porbandar to BJP's Babubhai Bokhiriya by 1855 votes.

Among the three candidates backed by PAAS leader Hardik Patel - Bhikhabhai Joshi of the Congress is leading in Junagadh while Jayeshbhai Patel is trailing in Bharuch.

The Bharatiya Janata Party crossed the halfway mark in the keenly fought Gujarat assembly election and was comfortably ahead in Himachal Pradesh even as counting continued.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP was ahead in 108 seats in a 182-member Gujarat house compared to 70 for the Congress by 10:50 a.m. as the leads kept fluctuating in early rounds of counting. His party was ahead on 42 seats in Himachal in comparison to the Congress’ 23.

BJP leads in 90 Assembly seats, Congress in 66, according to trends available for 159 seats in Gujarat.

India’s equity markets slumped with the rupee and government bonds slid as early trends from the Gujarat elections indicated a close race.

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.4 percent to 10,403 as of 8:45 a.m.

Rajkot (West): Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is contesting from the constituency, that has elected BJP lawmakers since 1985. Current Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala has been a seven-time MLA from the seat.

CM Rupani is up against Indranil Rajguru of the Congress, who is the sitting MLA from the Rajkot (East) seat.

Porbandar: In the two terms that Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace has voted as an independent seat, it has chosen the Congress and the BJP for one-term each. Local Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia and BJP's Babubhai Bokhiriya, who is the current state water and agriculture minister, will be up against each other for the third consecutive election.

Surat: Voters of Surat have sent a BJP MP to the Lok Sabha since 1989. But the sentiment in the business hub has been dampened by Narendra Modi government's two decisions - demonetization and the rollout of Goods and Services Tax.

The 16 assembly seats in Surat district may play a key role in determining who takes pole position in the state.

Also Read: Voters Speak: Will GST Woes Dampen BJP’s Poll Prospects in Surat?

After a high-decibel campaign marked by personal attacks and accusations, exit polls projected the BJP returning to power in Gujarat yet again.

The ruling party is being projected to capture 115 seats in the 182-seat Gujarat assembly, according to the mean tally of exit polls conducted by Today’s Chanakya, Times Now - VMR, C-Voter, and India Today - Axis My India exit poll. The Congress is likely to win 65.

The ruling party may have crossed the majority mark by around 25 seats, but that’s still short of the target of 150 seats it had set for itself. “That’s the target we had in mind and we worked for 150”, Narendra Taneja of the BJP told BloombergQuint.

Good Morning!

It is the day pollsters, politicians, policy watchers and investors have been eagerly awaiting. The voters of Gujarat exercised their franchise, in two phases, to decide the fate of 1,828 candidates contesting for 182 seats of the Gujarat Assembly. And votes will be counted from 8 a.m. Leads will start trickling in from around 8:30 a.m., and if previous state elections are any indication, clear trends will start emerging from about 10 a.m.

It’s an election that the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party went into with much confidence, with party President Amit Shah and state Chief Minister Vijay Rupani setting a target of 150 seats. But the opposition Congress Party, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, and empowered by the alliances with the three emerging leaders of Gujarat - Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani, put up a tougher-than-expected fight. Congress’ resurgence prompted a fierce response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who campaigned extensively in the last days of the two-phase elections in the state.

Also Read: Gujarat Elections: BJP Will Cross 150 Seats, Says Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani - Exclusive