BJP wins record seventh term in Gujarat, Himachal in hands of Congress; Aam Aadmi becomes national party

NEW DELHI: BJP's record victory in Gujarat heralded the Modi influence and served as a pointer towards the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, the dazzling victory in Himachal Pradesh has turned into a lifesaver for the Congress, which is collapsing all over the country. The Aam Aadmi Party also secured the status as a national party after opening its account in Gujarat by winning five seats and 12% of the vote. Political observers believe that this is a sign regarding India's political future.

Bhupendra Patel will be the CM again in Gujarat. The oath-taking ceremony will take place on December 12th. The BJP defeated its opponents in Gujarat and won 156 seats in the 182-member assembly. The main opposition Congress won only 17 seats. Meanwhile, in Himachal Pradesh, the grand old party wrested power from the BJP with a resounding victory in 40 seats.

In Gujarat, BJP now has an opportunity to break the record of CPM's 34 years of continuous rule in West Bengal. It broke the record of 149 seats won by the Congress in 1985 under the leadership of Madhav Singh Solanki. The BJP's highest score was 127 seats won in 2002 under the leadership of Narendra Modi after the Godhra riots. BJP also swept Saurashtra and cities like Surat and Jamnagar, where it suffered a setback in 2017 due to the Patidar agitation. It also secured massive victories in Adivasi (26 out of 27) and minority sectors. In Ghatlodia, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel won a huge majority of over 1.92 lakh votes. The Aam Aadmi Party and the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen dented the Congress's sway over the votes of minorities in Gujarat. Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi lost the election.

Himachal supports Congress
In Himachal, the people accepted the promises of the Congress like the restoration of the old pension scheme and scheme for apple farmers. Priyanka Gandhi's campaign also worked in favour of the Congress. Anti-government wave, rebel presence and opposition to the Agniveer project confined Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur's BJP to 25 seats. (In 2017, BJP won 44 seats and Congress won 21 seats) Late former chief minister Veerabhadra Singh's widow and PCC president Pratibha Singh, opposition leader Mukesh Agnihotri and former PCC president Sukhvinder Singh are the frontrunners to become the CM. The high command will take a final call on the CM. Himachal will be the third state along with Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to be ruled by the Congress.

Voting Percentage

Gujarat:

BJP: 52% (49% in 2017)
Congress: 27% (41.4% in 2017)
Aam Aadmi : 12% (0.1% in 2017)

Himachal:

BJP: 43% (48.8% in 2017)
Congress: 43.9% (41.7% in 2017)