BJP Decimates The Opposition In Gujarat
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-12-09 06:52:49
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
View all posts by this Author
As it was
claiming all through the campaign, the BJP has performed exceedingly well and
has retained its citadel in Gujarat with a record victory. The complete
dominance of the party was proved both in terms of seats (156 compared to 99 it
got in 2017) and vote share (52.5% this time against 49.1% in 2017). The charisma
of Narendra Modi and the organizational acumen of Amit Shah combined this time to
decimate the opposition after the scare the party had in 2017.
While AAP
ran a high decibel campaign and also hinted many times that people were
supporting it in large numbers and even if it did not emerge victorious, it
will definitely become the principal opposition party. But its hopes were
belied as it won just 5 seats although it scooped up 12.9% vote share to show
that it had struck a chord with the people. This, and its vote share in
Himachal were enough to give the party the status of a national party and it fits
well with the long term game plan of the party.
The
Congress, on the other hand, was totally decimated in Gujarat. Beset by
defections and loss of prominent youth leaders of different communities it had
got in 2017 (Patidar leader Hardik Patel and OBC leader Alpesh Thakor) it ran a
surprisingly low-key campaign and could not stir up anti-incumbency against the
BJP to cut a sorry figure. It vote share dropped alarmingly from 41.4% in 2017
to just 27.3% this year with AAP gaining at its expense.
The BJP
left no stone unturned to ensure that it recorded its best ever performance in
the state. The cockiness it displayed in 2017 which led to a near defeat was
absent this time and discipline, determination and strategic brilliance (like
giving Kartik Amrutiya the ticket in Morbi after the video of him jumping in
the river to save victims of the bridge collapse vent viral. Amrutiya won by
more than 62000 votes) marked its campaign. The pro-incumbency, which Prime
Minister Modi talked about in his campaign speeches, was very much in evidence
in Gujarat as the people reposed their faith once again in the BJP.
