Anti-incumbency does not apply to Gujarat: Vijay Rupani amid lead in civic polls

Polling for elections to municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar was conducted on Sunday. These elections were being seen as a test for Rupani ahead of the assembly polls in the state next year.

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leading in all the six civic body seats in Gujarat, chief minister Vijay Rupani thanked voters and reiterated that his government will focus on the development of the municipal corporations. “I thank voters of all the six metros. I thank all the BJP workers who have worked hard in this election. I assure the people of Gujarat that the BJP will not let the trust placed in the BJP go to waste. The government will not spare any effort for the development of 6 Municipal Corporations in the coming days,” Rupani said in a tweet in Gujarati.

Vijay Rupani with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Reuters)

He added that BJP’s lead in the six municipal corporations shows that anti-incumbency does not apply to the state of Gujarat. These elections were being seen as a test for Rupani ahead of the assembly polls in the state next year.

“By handing over the responsibility of city development to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the corporation for years, the people of Gujarat have made it a subject for the political analysts to study that the term anti-incumbency does not apply to Gujarat,” CM Rupani added.

The BJP put up a winning performance in all the six civic bodies and was ahead in the early trends. According to the latest trends, out of the 192 seats in Ahmedabad, the BJP was leading in 81. In Surat, the BJP won 93 seats and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) bagged 27 seats out of 120. Out of the 76 seats in Vadodara, the BJP was leading in 36 seats and Congress in nine. In Rajkot, the BJP was leading in 48 seats out of 72 seats. Out of the 64 seats in Jamnagar, the BJP was leading in 23, both Congress and the AAP in four. In Bhavnagar, the BJP was leading in 30 seats and Congress in eight, out of 52 seats of the municipal corporation.

Polling for elections to municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar was conducted on Sunday. The counting of votes is being held for 192 seats across 48 wards in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, for 120 seats across 30 wards in the Surat Municipal Corporation, 76 seats across 19 wards of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, for 72 seats across 18 wards in the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, 52 seats across 13 wards in the Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation and 64 seats across 16 wards in the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation.