The Hindu : Front Page : Modi-led BJP trumps Congress in Gujarat

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Monday, Dec 24, 2007
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Front Page

Modi-led BJP trumps Congress in Gujarat

Manas Dasgupta

Chief Minister says people have defeated “negativism and anti-Gujarat forces;” swearing-in on Thursday

— Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

the winner: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi flashes the victory sign in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

GANDHINAGAR: Narendra Modi is back. The Gujarat Chief Minister has brought an absolute majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party with 117 seats in the 182-member Assembly, although this is 10 seats fewer than its 2002 tally. The Congress won 59 seats, eight more than in 2002.

It was the fourth straight victory for the BJP in the State since 1995 and the second consecutive one under the leadership of Mr. Modi, who has been Chief Minister for six years now.

Mr. Modi, who led a victory procession to the party headquarters in Ahmedabad, in a brief address to mediapersons dubbed the Congress “anti-Gujarat.” He said the people had defeated “negativism and anti-Gujarat forces.”

Mr. Modi won in his home constituency of Maninagar in Ahmedabad with a much bigger margin than last time.

NCP opens account

The Nationalist Congress Party, which contested as an ally of the Congress, made its maiden entry into the Assembly, winning three seats — the party’s State president Jayant Patel Bosky won from Sarsa in Kaira district; Tushar Sinh bagged the Devgagh-Baria seat and Chandubhai Vaghasi won from Gondal. The Janata Dal (United) has won a seat. One candidate each of the CPI(M) and the Lok Janshakti Party, both Congress allies, were defeated.

Congress State president Bharatsinh Solanki, who had thrown everything into the ring to bring the party back to power after 13 years, conceded defeat much before the final results were announced.

The meeting of the BJP Legislature Party will be held in Gandhinagar on Monday, and Mr. Modi’s return is a foregone conclusion. He is likely to take the oath of office and secrecy at a special ceremony at the Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad on December 27.

Rebels largely defeated

Despite the huge turnout seen at almost all the meetings of the Sardar Patel Utkarsha Samiti, the platform created to oppose Mr. Modi, the BJP rebels, who contested on the Congress ticket, were defeated.

The only exception was the former Minister, Bavku Unghad, who won the Babra seat in Amreli district for the Congress. The most vocal BJP rebel leader, Dhirubhai Gajera, lost in Surat North. All the other BJP rebels who contested as independents or as candidates of Uma Bharati’s Bharatiya Janshakti Party after being denied the BJP ticket, lost.

In the Kutch-Saurashtra region, where the veteran rebel leader and former Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel, supposedly holds considerable influence, the BJP gained four seats. This is an improvement of its tally from 39 to 43 out of a total of 58 seats.

Kutch district, where the Congress had won four of the six seats in 2002, gave the BJP five of six seats. Here BJP rebels Narendrasinh Jadeja and Gopalbhai Dhua lost. Even the sitting Congress member from Mandvi, the home constituency of another BJP rebel leader and former Chief Minister, Suresh Mehta, was defeated.

While the BJP lost considerable ground in the supposed Congress stronghold of central Gujarat, it maintained its stranglehold. The BJP rather marginally improved its position in both the south and north Gujarat regions where the Congress had hoped to make gains.

BJP women gain

The dozen-odd women candidates of the Congress lost, including the women’s wing State president, Chandrikaben Chudasma, who had won the Mangrol seat in Junagadh district in the last two elections. In contrast, 15 of the 22 women candidates set up by the BJP were elected.

Though Mr. Modi gave credit to the central leadership for “guiding the party to victory,” it was undoubtedly the “Modi magic” that worked for the party. He not only had to face the Congress challenge, but had to contend with the rebellion within his party.

He also had to ward off any anti-incumbency disadvantage and mobilise his party machinery in a bigger way in view of the doubtful and lukewarm support of other outfits of the Sangh Parivar. He cashed in on his slogan of “safety and security,” with “development” tagged on.

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Modi’s triumph, Congress debacle

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