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Even with the loss of Himachal Pradesh where the Congress managed to record its first Assembly election victory in four years, the BJP on Thursday asserted its dominance over the political landscape by the best-ever performance with a staggering 52.5 per cent of the vote share and 156 seats in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly.
Congress managed to win the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly with a 43.9 per cent of the total votes polled while BJP had a matching vote share of 43 per cent. In Gujarat, newcomer Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 5 seats but cornered a significant share of about 12.9 per cent of the popular vote.
The BJP carried the day and broke the iconic former Congress Chief Minister Madhavsinh Solanki’s stupendous victory record in 1985 wherein he secured 149 seats in Gujarat. From its 2017 tally of 99, BJP jumped to 156 seats, while Congress reduced from 77 to 17. Even as the seats gain went to the BJP, the AAP ate into Congress’s vote share by cornering 12.9 per cent of the vote even though it won only five seats. BJP’s overall vote share stood at about 53 per cent.
This means that out of total polling of 3.18 crore votes, 1.66 crore votes were polled in favour of the saffron party, while only 86 lakh votes were polled in favour of the Congress, with a vote share of 27 per cent.
The BJP organised victory celebrations at the party headquarters in Delhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing party workers. “Not just in Gujarat, but we had a big win in the UP by-election too - in Rampur. This is also indicative of what is to come in Bihar… The difference in the win-loss in Himachal Pradesh was less than 1per cent,” said the PM.
Shimla: Media and Congress party workers outside the residence of party's Himachal Pradesh incharge Pratibha Singh, in Shimla, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Congress is leading in the Assembly polls. (PTI Photo) (PTI12_08_2022_000083B)
Himachal Vote
Himachal witnessed a close contest between the Congress and the BJP both of which had their share of problems with the BJP battling rebel candidates in as many as 21 seats and the Congress simultaneously facing a leadership problem after the demise of former CM Virbhadra Singh. Congress finally won 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly, confining the BJP at 25 although both parties had similar vote shares.
By-polls
In the Parliamentary bypoll at Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, Dimple Yadav of the SP scored a victory whereas in the Assembly by-polls in the State in SP strongman Azam Khan’s home turf Rampur, the BJP registered a win. In Kurhani, Bihar, the BJP won whereas in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the local ruling parties BJD and the Congress registered victories.
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