The Hindu Business Line : Landslide for BJP in Gujarat

The political pundits were proved absolutely wrong as it was not Saurashtra that emerged as the deciding factor, but Central Gujarat, for long considered the backyard of the Congress.

GANDHINAGAR, Dec. 15

THE Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by caretaker Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, secured a landslide victory in Gujarat's 10th Assembly elections as it cornered 126 seats, bettering its earlier position by 10 seats.

The two-thirds majority to the BJP resulted in the Congress, which had 53 seats in last Assembly elections, getting a lower tally of 51 seats even as independents and others accounted for four seats. Polling to one constituency was postponed following the death a candidate and elections were held to 181 seats.

The saffron wave came on the strength of the BJP's twin election plank of terrorism and security, which far outweighed the development platform on which the Congress had positioned its campaign. The BJP's overall vote share stood at 47.14 per cent while that of Congress was at 37.38 per cent. Surprisingly, it was the Congress that improved on its previous showing in three out of four regions in Saurashtra, North and South Gujarat while BJP lost ground in all the three regions.

The political pundits were proved absolutely wrong as it was not Saurashtra that emerged as the deciding factor, but Central Gujarat, for long considered the backyard of the Congress. In the final analysis, it was in Central Gujarat with 43 seats where the BJP made a net gain of 27 seats, as many as 23 of them coming at the cost of Congress. The Congress strategy of making major inroads into Saurashtra fetched it just 18 seats, way short of its goal of 30 seats or thereabouts though a net gain of 12 seats.

According to political analysts, the Congress had been betting too much on the anti-incumbency factor while it has not done anything substantial as an Opposition party in the last five years in the State. Also, it made the cardinal mistake of taking for granted its historical vote bank comprising the Muslim community and the tribals. While the former had no option but to vote for Congress following Godhra and the riots that followed, the tribals seem to have been won over by the ruling party affiliates leading to BJP's major gains in Central Gujarat.

An election that found the business community holding out against taking any positions, not many were forthcoming with their response. However, Mr Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Rs 4,200-crore Adani group, talked to Business Line, saying that the huge margin for the BJP should mean a period of stability for the State's economy. The two-third majority meant a verdict for governance and consolidation of the State as the industrial hub of the country, he said.

"There were people who said that Mr Modi was not good at governance in his earlier stint as the Chief Minister. The fact is that he had no time to govern in the run-up to the election. With such a huge mandate, he is sure to settle down and concentrate on reviving the financial situation of the State. One would be inclined to think that the focus would revolve around reforms, industry and infrastructure," Mr Adani said.

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