Gujarat Elections results: BJP wins majority

At 8 p.m Gujarat Assembly poll trends/results available for 182 seats at 2000 hours:

Total number of seats: 182

Elections held: 182

Parties Won Leading Total

BJP 97 - 2 - 99

Congress 76 - 1 - 77

Nationalist Cong 1 - 0 - 1

Bhartiya Tribal Party 2 - 0 - 2

Independents 3 - 0 - 3

Total 179 - 3 - 182

7.50 p.m Congress candidate Asha Patel defeated BJP nominee and sitting MLA Narayan Patel with a comfortable margin of over 19,000 votes to win the Unjha seat.

7:48 pm: BJP lost the Unjha assembly constituency in Mehsana district, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hometown Vadnagar, to Congress

7:16 pm: Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal hailed the victory of BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls

As per poll outcome till 5 p.m, voting percentage in favour of BJP in Gujarat has gone up to 49.10 from 47.85 per cent in 2012

7.05 p,m Tushar Chaudhary, son of former Gujarat chief minister Amarsinh Chaudhary, lost from Mahuva in Surat district by over 6,000 votes.

Winner Mohanbhai Dodiya of the BJP polled 82,607 votes, while Chaudhary got 76,174.

7.00 p.m Shaktisinh Gohil, a top Congress leader in Gujarat, today lost the election from Mandvi seat in Kutch district to BJP’s Virendrasinh Jadeja by 9,046 votes.

Gohil, a former leader of the opposition in the state Assembly, polled 70,423 votes while Jadeja got 79,469. Gohil was an MLA form Abdasa constituency of Kutch, but contested from Mandvi this time.

Gohil is one of the spokespersons of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

6.57 p.m. The BJP today retained power in Gujarat, securing a simple majority by winning 92 seats in the 182-member Assembly. It is leading in seven more, according to the Election Commission tally.

The Opposition Congress followed closely behind the long-ruling saffron party with 75 seats in the bitterly-fought election whose campaign saw repeated face-offs between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

6.55 p.m. BJP wins 92 seats, leads in 7 in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly, according to Election Commission tally.

6:30 pm: Shaktisinh Gohil, Tushar Chaudhary of Congress lost the Mandvi seat in Kutch district to BJP’s Virendrasinh Jadeja by 9,046 votes

4:20 pm: Congress leader Paresh Dhanani retained the Amreli assembly constituency by defeating his nearest rival Bavkubhai Undhad of the BJP by a margin of 12,029 seats

3:58 pm Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani today won from Vadgam seat in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district, defeating BJP’s nominee Vijay Chakravarti by 19,696 votes. Read more

3.17 pm: “Jo jeeta wohi Sikandar (whoever wins is the king), said Union minister Smriti Irani , when asked if the Congress gave it a tough fight.

“This is a vote for development and trust for Narendra Modi,” Union minister Jitendra Singh .

“We have set a record in the history of the BJP by winning consecutive assembly polls... Anti-incumbency is not working there. The prime minister’s popularity is intact. Amit Shah’s strategy has worked,” BJP vice president Shyam Jaju said.

3:14 pm: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar congratulates Rupani on winning the Rajkot West seat

3.06 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today that the mandate is for the party’s politics of “vishwas” and “vikas“. Read more

2:56 pm: According to ECI, BJP has won 32 seats and Congress stood at 23

2.29 pm: Trends according ECI website

2.11 pm : Chief Minister Vijay Rupani wins from Rajkot West seat by a margin of 54,300 votes over his Congress rival.

1.46 pm : BJP wins 13 and Congress in 12

1.34 pm: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel today said the Congress would have “done better” in the Gujarat election if it had formed an alliance with his party.

1.20 pm: Results declared of:

Congress wins in Borsad, Dahod, Junagadh and Dariapur.

BJP in Navsari, Valsad and Surat (North)

National Congress Party wins in Kutiyana

1.18 pm: Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam today said the BJP’s victory in Gujarat was not because of the people in the state but because of EVMs.

1.05 pm: Celebrations in BJP camp in Gujarat.Read more

12.57 pm: Congress wins Tankara Assembly seat. BJP gets Dharampur and Nadiad constituencies.

12.47 pm: The BJP was leading in 105 of the total 182 seats while the Congress was ahead in 70 seats.

12.41 pm: Gujarat results indicate people not happy with BJP: Shiv Sena. Read more

12.38 pm: BJP retains Maninagar seat which was held by Narendra Modi in 2012.

12.35 pm: BJP wins Mahuva and Umbergaon constituencies.

12.31 pm: Rupee recovers from early low of 64.72 as BJP set to retain power in Gujarat . Read more

12.18 pm: Congress wins Mahudha seat, according to ECI website.

12.14 pm: With poll trends favouring the BJP in both Gujarat andHimachal Pradesh, party workers celebrating outside the Mumbai office. Photo: Paul Noronha

12.10 pm: Markets recover from 850 points fall as the saffron party nears 2012 target of 115 seats. Catch the live market updates here

12.03 pm: BJP activists celebrate in Hyderabad as the party is leading in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Photo: G Ramakrishna

11.53 am: The BJP said the poll trends in its favour indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity was intact in his home state Gujarat. Read more

11.49 am: The first result in the Gujarat polls went to the BJP with Fisheries Minister Babubhai Bokhiriya defeating Congress’ Arjun Modhvadia in Porbandar

11.44 am: Ashok Gehlot , the Congress election in-charge for Gujarat, said Rahul Gandhi ran a nice campaign in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Read more

11.42 am: “Development is the mantra of today’s polity. And therefore people are with Modiji,” Human Resources Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

11.37 am: Markets staged a smart recovery from the opening low as Prime Minister Narendra Modi today flashed a victory sign.

11.31 am: According to ECI website, BJP is leading in 101 seats and Congress is ahead in 73 constituencies.

11.26 am: Shiv Sena heaped praise on Rahul Gandhi for “fighting the Gujarat poll battle without bothering about the result”. Read more

11.18 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashed a victory sign after he arrived in Parliament, as the BJP pulled ahead of the Congress in trends for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls.

(Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory sign. Photo credit: Kamal Narang)

10.54 am: The BJP today appeared to be on its way to retain power in the state, with trends from 175 out of 182 Assembly seats giving it a lead in 100 seats while the Congress was following with 70.

The NCP was leading in one seat and the Bhartiya Tribal Party in two seats. Two Independents were also leading.

10.51 am: Trends very clear, we will form government in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, says senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh. Read more

10.18 am: Markets recovered from the opening low as latest official figures from the Election Commission showed the BJP leading in 106 seats and the Congress in 71 constituencies.

10.11 am: BJP is ahead in 106 seats while Congress is leading in 71 seats

10.09 am: BJP Chief Minister Vijay Rupani , who was earlier trailing after the count of postal ballots, is now leading in over Congress’ Indranil Rajyaguru in Rajkot West seat.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel is trailing from Mehsana against Congress candidate Jivabhai Patel by 3,000 votes.

Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia is trailing in Porbandar by just 50 votes after counting of three rounds, against BJP leader and fisheries minister Babubhai Bokhiriya .

Congress’ Alpesh Thakor is leading in Radhanpur seat against Lavingji Thakor of BJP.

Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil is trailing against BJP’s Virendrasinh Jadeja from Mandvi seat.

State BJP chief Jitu Vaghani is leading over Dilipsinh Gohil of Congress in Bhavnagar West.

10.08 am: Election Commission figures show the NCP, Bhartiya Tribal Party and an independent candidate are leading in five seats together.

9.55 am: BJP takes a slight lead, ahead in 103 seats while Congress leads in 75 constituencies

9.49 am: Around 1.9% NOTA votes registered according to the ECI website

9.41 am: NCP leads on 1, Bhartiya Tribal Party 1 and independent on 1, as per trends available.

9.36 am: Markets crashed after early trends of Gujarat Assembly election results. At 9.20 a.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 477.70 points at 32,985.27 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 156.30 points at 10,176.95.

9.34 am: BJP leads in 99 constituencies and Congress in 78 seats as the margin slightly increases.

9.26 am: BJP leads in 92 seats and Congress in 83 constituencies.

9.20 am: Neck and neck contest with BJP leading in 86 seats and Congress in 84

9.14 am: Indranil Rajyaguru of Congress is leading over BJP leader and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Rajkot West after first round of counting. Rajyaguru secured 1,258 votes while Rupani got 491 votes after the end of first round of counting, as per election officials at the counting centre.

9.08 am: BJP is leading in 81 seats while Congress in 71

8.48 am: Trends show BJP leading in 47 and Congress in 40 constituencies

8.42 am: BJP takes lead in 43 setas while Congress is leading in 22 seats

8.40 am: Chief Election Commissioner A K Joti has reiterated that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are safe and cannot be tampered with.

8.30 am: Early trends: BJP leading in 25 seats and Congress in 13

8.22 am: BJP leading in 18 seats while Congress in 6

8.15 am : Early trends show BJP leading in 14 seats and Congress in 4

8:00 am: Counting for the Assembly elections in Gujarat begins. The counting of votes will be held at 37 centres across the state’s 33 districts. The exit polls on Thursday predicted a clear majority for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

(PTI graphic)

While the BJP is seeking a sixth straight term in office, the Congress is aiming to stage a comeback in power after being in the opposition for over two decades.

Key contestants

The main contestants from the BJP are Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani (Rajkot West), Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel (Mehsana) and state BJP unit president Jitu Vaghani (Bhavnagar West).

The main contenders from the Congress are Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi), Arjun Modhvadia (Porbandar), Siddharth Patel (Dabhoi), and Paresh Dhanai (Amreli).

OBC leader Alpesh Thakor, who joined the Congress ahead of polls is fighting from Radhanpur seat, while Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani is contesting from Vadgam.

The Election Commission last night withdrew notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his TV interviews during Gujarat polls, and said it will revisit a provision in the election law under which it was issued.

Also read:Omissions of the Commissions

For the 182 seats up for grabs, a total of 1,828 candidates contested the elections which were held in two phases on December 9 and 14.

In the first phase of polls held on December 9 for 89 seats, 66.75 per cent voting was recorded. The total voter turnout this time has seen a dip of 2.91 per cent compared to the 2012 polls when 71.32 per cent polling was registered. In terms of numbers, of the total 4.35 crore registered voters, 2.97 crore exercised their right to franchise in the elections held on December 9 and 14.