The Hindu Business Line : BJP sweeps Ahmedabad municipal polls

IN WHAT has come as a shot in the arm for the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, the BJP has routed the Congress in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections by winning a two-third majority and coming back to power after five years.

The BJP won 96 of the 129 seats. The crucial elections had Mr Modi almost single-handedly taking on the rival Congress, dissidents within his party and the Sangh Parivar.

The Chief Minister had actively campaigned for his party's candidates in the run up to the elections. The victory, according to political analysts, will silence Mr Modi's critics and quell dissidence within the ruling party in the State. "After such a convincing victory, it would be difficult for the BJP's central leadership to find fault with Mr Modi," says a political observer who has been following the elections closely.

While the Congress had brought in senior central leaders like Mr Shankarsinh Vaghela, Ms Meira Kumar and Mr Sachin Pilot for canvassing, Mr Modi led the BJP's assault alone.

A spat with the non-government organisation, SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association) had some 5,000 activists taking out protest rallies across the city in the last couple of days before polling. But even that did not have much impact on the outcome. The Gujarat Government had blocked the flow of foreign funds to SEWA alleging irregularities in an earthquake rehabilitation and rural employment programme called `Jeevika'.

The UN International Fund for Agricultural Development is funding the Rs 125-crore `Jeevika' project that provides employment to 14,000 families of Kutch, Patan and Surendranagar districts.

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