Its Modi mania in Gujarat; Himachal goes to Congress

Ahmedabad/Shimla: In a landslide victory, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in Gujarat for a record seventh straight term but was dethroned by the Congress in Himachal Pradesh where the hill State could followed its long history of an incumbent government being voted out.

Riding on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed 31 election rallies in his home State and continued to hold sway over voters, BJP steamrolled the opposition that included the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) by winning or leading in 157 of the 182 seats in Gujarat with a vote share of nearly 53 per cent.

The BJP was on course to surpass its previous best showing of 127 seats in 2002 when Modi was the chief minister. Congress holds the all-time record of 149 seats that it had won in 1985 under the leadership of Madhavsinh Solanki.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel credited Prime Minister Modi for the party's "historic victory". "The biggest credit for this victory goes to public's trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his popularity and credibility. Congratulations to him and thanks to the public," Singh said.

The state BJP president C R Paatil said Bhupendra Patel, the party's 60-year-old soft-spoken face in Gujarat, would continue as the chief minister and his swearing-in ceremony would be held on December 12. Patel won the Ghatlodia seat in Ahmedabad by a margin of 1.92 lakh votes. The BJP, which focused on a development agenda in the home state of Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, equaled Left Front's feat of seven consecutive terms in West Bengal.

The CPI(M)-led Front ruled the eastern state for 34 years from 1977 to 2011. The BJP overcame anti-incumbency yet again after being in power for 27 years without losing an election since 1995. It had 99 seats in the outgoing house with a 49.1 per cent vote share. After giving a tough fight to the BJP in 2017 Assembly polls in Gujarat by winning 77 seats, the Congress has hit a nadir in the western state where the party's campaign, mostly shouldered by local leaders, has leaned on door-to-door canvassing for votes as its leader Rahul Gandhi chose to stay away to focus on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'. Rahul had aggressively campaigned in 2017.

With a vote share of nearly 28 per cent, the Congress won or was ahead in 16 seats. According to the latest Election Commission data for Himachal Pradesh, the Congress was winning or leading in ahead in 39 of the 68 seats followed by the BJP, which won or was ahead in 26 seats and was hoping to buck the anti-incumbency trend witnessed in the hill state for nearly four decades. Independents were ahead in three constituencies.

The AAP, which had fielded candidates in 67 seats, was trailing in all seats and had a meagre vote share of 1.1 per cent. In Himachal Pradesh, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, wife of former chief minister late Virbhadra Singh, said the party is hoping to win at least 40 to 42 seats. "We are confident that results will be in favour of the Congress and we will form the government," she told reporters in Shimla. Senior Congress leader and former union minister Anand Sharma said the Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh will have resonance and ripple effect in poll-bound states next year.