Verdict Day In Gujarat, PM’s Home State, And Himachal Pradesh: 10 Facts
Gujarat has 182 seats, the majority mark stands at 92. Himachal Pradesh has 68 seats and 35 seats are needed for a victory.
The verdict of BJP-ruled Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will be delivered today as counting begins. Exit polls predicted mega victory for BJP in the Prime Minister’s home state and in Himachal, though with a narrow margin.
Here are 10 big updates on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh election results
1.Gujarat has 182 seats, the majority mark stands at 92. Himachal Pradesh has 68 seats and 35 seats are needed for a victory.
2.In Gujarat, the BJP’s bastion of nearly three decades, all eyes would be on the performance of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, which has pitched itself as an alternative to the Congress. The interest is higher following AAP’s victory in Delhi civic elections today in a direct fight with the BJP.
3.The BJP, which informally launched its campaign in Gujarat months ago, upped the glitz quotient as the contest neared. Under the helmsmanship of Amit Shah and the banner of PM Modi, its campaign ran on predictable lines, with rallies by its biggest leaders. The Prime Minister held over 30 rallies after the elections were announced.
4.In Himachal Pradesh too, the BJP is banking on the achievements of PM Modi for a smooth transition to a second term, even though the state diligently swings between the BJP and the Congress every five years.
5.The message to Himachal Pradesh was of Central development, with PM Modi flagging off a Vande Bharat Express ahead of elections and opening a new AIIMS at Bilaspur. In many party hoardings, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur was missing.
6.AAP practically dropped out of the race in Himachal to focus its energies in Gujarat and Delhi. In Gujarat, Mr Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held multiple rallies — neck and neck with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As a counter to the BJP’s “Phir ek baar Modi Sarkaar” (Another term or Modi government), it has raised the slogan of “parivartan (change).
7.Exit polls, which do not always get it right, have predicted that AAP will merely register its presence in Gujarat, barely going beyond a single digit score. But an AAP foothold in Gujarat is expected to bring a change in the binary politics of Gujarat and present the BJP with a more persistent and strategic opponent than the Congress.
8.The Grand Old party, focused on its big picture Bharat Jodo Yatra, is seen as putting up a token campaign in Gujarat, where it won 77 seats in 2017, and in Himachal Pradesh, where the trend of the last few decades gives it a bonus point. In Delhi civic polls — which had more voters than in Himachal Pradesh — the Congress won only nine seats.
9.Over the last two years, the Congress lost two of its key leaders from Gujarat, Ahmed Patel and Madhavsinh Solanki. For leaders of the Gujarat Congress, Ahmed Patel was the mentor and go-to man. There was no one to pick up the slack, with Rahul Gandhi, who had led from the front in 2017, being busy with the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
10.In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has been facing rising factionalism. On the eve of results, the party expelled 30 office bearers for “anti-party activities”.
