BJP sweeps local body polls in Gujarat; wins 15 municipal corporations, 33 district panchayats

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday swept the local body elections in Gujarat by winning all 15 municipal corporations that went to the polls and 33 out of 34 district panchayats in the state. Though final results of 250 taluka panchayats and 84 municipalities were awaited, data from the State Election Commission (SEC) showed that the ruling party has won most of these local bodies while some were bagged by the Congress, AAP and independents. Polling was held on Sunday for 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats. More than 4.18 crore voters were eligible to cast their ballots. The BJP emerged as clear winner in the municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Rajkot besides the newly created municipal corporations of Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar. Elections were not held for Gandhinagar and Junagadh corporations as they have a different election cycle. Barring Narmada district, the BJP also captured 33 district panchayats. The ruling party lost the Narmada district panchayat to AAP, which won 15 out of 22 seats while the saffron party managed to win only seven seats. AAP claimed in a statement that it has also won 12 taluka panchayats, including four in Narmada district. The local bodies won by the Congress included the taluka panchayats of Vyara, Ankalav, Hadad, Palanpur, Sidhpur and Patan, besides Sikka and Jam Raval municipalities. Overall, the BJP has won 7,491 out of 9,986 seats across local bodies, as per the latest SEC data. Congress has won 1,740 seats, AAP 489 seats while Independents and other parties including AIMIM have bagged 266 seats. The BJP has won 3,674 seats in taluka panchayats, 892 in district panchayats, 1,988 in municipalities and 937 in municipal corporations. Counting began at 9 am under heavy security. The voter turnout on December 26 was 55.1 per cent for municipal corporations, 65.53 per cent for municipalities, 66.64 per cent for district panchayats and 67.26 per cent for taluka panchayats. Among municipal corporations, the newly formed Gandhidham in Kutch district recorded the lowest turnout at 46.03 per cent, while Vapi in Valsad district registered the highest at 72.29 per cent polling. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation reported a turnout of 51.81 per cent. The elections were held under revised norms for Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations, which required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in several districts. Though the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM party failed to win any seats in Ahmedabad this time, three of its candidates won in Bhuj municipality. Following the results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the relationship between Gujarat and the Bharatiya Janata Party has ''now become even deeper and unbreakable!'' ''I express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Gujarat for the resounding public support and mandate received by the BJP in the municipal corporation, municipality, taluka panchayat, and district panchayat elections held across the state,'' the PM said in a post on platform X. Speaking at a press conference, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said he was grateful to the people for again supporting PM Narendra Modi's development-focused politics and delivering a big victory for the BJP. Former IPS officer Manoj Ninama and former MLA Bhupendra Bhayani, both contesting on BJP tickets, lost.

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