The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintained its stronghold in Gujarat, winning 25 out of 26 Lok Sabha seats in the recent general elections.
Despite aiming for a clean sweep for the third consecutive term, the BJP’s streak was interrupted by Congress’s victory in the Banaskantha constituency.
Unopposed BJP Victory in Gujarat:
Gujarat delivered the BJP its first victory even before the official polling date on May 7. Mukesh Dalal, the party’s candidate in Surat, was elected unopposed after all other contestants withdrew their nominations on April 24.
The BJP set an ambitious goal of winning all 26 seats with a margin of over 500,000 votes. Key figures fielded included Union Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya from Porbandar, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying Parshottam Rupala from Rajkot.
Notable Wins and Margins by BJP in Gujarat:
The BJP achieved its 500,000 vote margin target in four constituencies:
- Amit Shah defeated Sonal Patel in Gandhinagar by 744,716 votes, polling 1,010,972 votes.
- State BJP chief CR Patil won Navsari by 773,551 votes against Naishad Desai, polling 1,031,035 votes for his fourth consecutive term.
- Hemang Joshi in Vadodara and Rajpalsinh Mahendrasinh Jadav in Panchmahal also secured margins exceeding 500,000 votes.
Despite the near sweep, the BJP fell short in Banaskantha, where Congress candidate Geniben Nagarji Thakor won 30,406 votes against Rekhaben Chaudhary of the BJP. This victory marked Congress’s first win in Gujarat in a decade.
Campaign Strategy and Regional Focus:
The BJP’s campaign heavily leveraged PM Modi’s appeal, development projects, the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, and a strong nationalist narrative.
The party maintained dominance in the Saurashtra-Kutch region, winning all eight constituencies despite controversies and protests, notably Union Minister Rupala’s alleged controversial remark against the Rajput community.
Geniben Thakor’s win in Banaskantha was attributed to her grassroots connection and support from the influential Thakor community. Thakor, a prominent figure since her victory in the 2017 assembly polls, successfully retained her seat despite Congress’s overall poor performance in the state.
AAP and Other Opposition Performance:
In the ST-reserved Bharuch seat, BJP’s Mansukh Vasava defeated Chaitar Vasava of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who allied with Congress. Vasava’s consistent wins since 1998 were highlighted. In Bhavnagar, AAP’s Umesh Makwana lost to BJP’s Nimuben Bhambhaniya by 455,289 votes.
In addition to the Lok Sabha seats, the BJP won all five assembly bypolls in Gujarat, increasing its tally in the 182-member state assembly to 161 seats.
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