Ahmedabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has swept the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation elections.
Just over 56% voter turnout was recorded in elections for 44 seats in 11 wards of Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation on October 3.
The BJP has won 41 out of the 44 seats, the Congress two seats, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) one seat, according to State Election Commission data. This is the first time the BJP has scored a clear electoral victory in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation elections.
The BJP built an early lead as counting of votes started, and gradually extended its lead over the other parties for a near sweep. The decisive performance comes as a boost for the party as it starts preparing for the 2022 assembly elections, which are just over a year away.
Addressing party workers at the Gujarat BJP headquarters Kamalam, newly appointed chief minister Bhupendra Patel urged the winning candidates to dedicate their efforts to address people’s issues.
The results come as a big disappointment for Congress, which is struggling from a leadership crisis and a divided house. The results are also a dampener for the AAP, which was hoping to repeat its performance in Surat Municipal Corporation elections in Gandhinagar, as it gears up to contest all 182 assembly seats next year. The outfit is believed to have eaten into Congress’ votes, further hurting its performance.
The BJP has also won two seats of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation that went to the polls on Sunday. It has also scored a near sweep in by-elections to different municipalities and panchayat seats.