Defeated in three out of nine Assembly seats in the by-polls, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gujarat unit is yet to recover from the jolt it received from rival Congress. While the by-polls were a test for Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, the less-than-perfect victory may give more fodder to her critics within the party fold.
The party will hold a meeting to discuss seat-wise electoral performance and assess the lacunae.
The loss of Deesa, Khambhalia and Mangrol “is obviously a setback and a matter of worry. This result is a wake-up call,” Purushottam Rupala, State BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha member, told The Hindu .
By-polls were held in 10 seats — nine for Assembly and the Vadodara’s Lok Sabha segment — vacated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While, the BJP retained Vadodara, the Congress made unexpected gains and wrested three seats from the BJP.
In Khambhaliya, the Congress won marginally by 1,000 votes, but in Deesa and Mangrol it won by sizeable margins of over 10,000 votes and 22,000 votes respectively. While the caste factor favoured the Congress, the BJP was affected by the reputation and aspirations of its local candidates and cadre.
The electoral reverses look starker when contrasted with the clean sweep pulled off in the last Lok Sabha polls, in which the party won all 26 parliamentary seats.
‘Anandiben safe’Party leaders, however, felt the results would not upset Ms. Patel’s position in the party.
“The by-elections were a test [for Ms. Patel], no doubt, but I doubt it would impact her. It is natural for anyone to be unhappy with such results. However, the CM alone is not to be blamed. The party has to take collective responsibility,” Mr. Rupala said.
“The question of opposition to Ms. Patel does not arise. Even when Mr. Modi was at the helm in the 2012 Assembly polls, we won 117 out of 182 seats,” BJP leader Jagdish Bhavsar said.
Elections to urban local bodies and the by-election to the prestigious Rajkot (West) seat will pose another test for Ms. Patel.
This seat has a special significance for Karnataka Governor and former Gujarat Assembly Speaker Vajubhai Vala, who had vacated it for Mr. Modi in 2002.
“It is a powerful seat for the party and we will put in all our efforts. Right now, the Congress is aggressive. We have a strong local leadership, but we cannot be overconfident,” Mr. Rupala said.
