BJP records sixth straight win in Assembly polls, retains Gujarat
New Delhi: Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) secured its sixth straight victory in the Assembly Elections 2017, the results for which were announced on Monday.
BJP had won 97 seats and was leading in two seats-while the Congress party had won 77 and was also leading in two more seats in Gujarat Assembly Elections when this report was filed.
Pertinently, in Himachal Pradesh BJP had won 41 seats and was leading in three more seats while Congress Party had won twenty seats and was leading in one more seat when reports last came in. The counting was underway till late in the evening.
The Election Commission began the counting of votes polled in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on Monday morning. The counting of votes was underway at 37 centres across the state’s 33 districts, amidst tight security.
All eyes were on Gujarat results as the saffron party has been ruling the state for over two decades and the prime minister comes from here. While BJP did not find any resistance in Himachal, it was faced with tough challenge from Hardik Patel, distressed farmers in Gujarat.
The BJP’s main rival party the Congress stitched a broad social coalition with prominent Patidar, OBC, and Dalit leaders – Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jigesh Mevani – in its bid to remove the saffron party.
Patel led a long agitation of his community for reservation, while Thakor led counter protest against inclusion of Patidars in the OBC reservation list. Mevani, raised his voice against Dalit atrocities.
In Himachal, the polls were conducted in single phase last month. In Gujarat, the elections were held in two phases that concluded on December 14. An average 68.41 per cent polling was recorded Gujarat.
KV Correspondent
