Ahmedabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday swept the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) polls, winning 38 of the 44 seats, and also retained power in the Thara and Okha municipalities in Gujarat, according to results declared by the State Election Commission (SEC).
The Congress finished a distant second in Gandhinagar with five seats, a gain of three seats compared to the 2021 GMC polls. An independent candidate bagged one seat. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had secured one seat in the previous elections, failed to open its account this time.
The GMC last went to polls in October 2021, when the BJP won 41 of the 44 seats, while the Congress secured two seats and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) one.
The BJP also won three seats in bypolls to Bayad, Chhotaudepur and Kheralu municipalities, while the Congress and AAP bagged the Paddhari Taluka Panchayat seat in Rajkot district and the Bhadthar District Panchayat seat in Devbhumi Dwarka district, respectively.
In Thara municipality in Banaskantha district, the BJP won 19 of the 24 seats, while the Congress secured the remaining five seats, as per the results.
In Okha municipality in Devbhumi Dwarka district, the BJP secured 33 of the 36 seats, including four seats declared uncontested as only BJP candidates remained in the fray. The polling was held for 29 seats; the Congress bagged three.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated the BJP for its victory in Gujarat civic polls.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the results reflected the people's faith in the party's development-oriented policies.
"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra bhai Modi, the people of Gujarat as well as the entire country have placed unwavering faith in the BJP's politics of development," Patel said in a statement.
He thanked voters for the party's victory and said the government would continue working towards the goal of "Developed Gujarat - Developed India".
Reacting to the results, Gujarat Congress chief spokesperson Manish Doshi said the party workers had put up a strong fight in Gandhinagar despite what he described as the "BJP's use of money and the alleged misuse of the police administration during the elections".
"Congress has increased its seat tally and its vote share improved by more than 15 per cent. The GMC poll outcome was unexpected for us. Our elected representatives would continue to raise public issues," he said.
AAP's Gujarat state organisation general secretary Manoj Sorathiya said the party accepted the mandate given by voters in Gandhinagar and would work to address organisational shortcomings ahead of the next election.
Sorathiya said the AAP had contested the GMC polls with 32 candidates and raised public issues during the campaign. He also claimed that the party won the Bhadthar District Panchayat seat by securing twice as many votes as the BJP.
Describing the Bhadthar victory as a win for farmers and farm labourers, Sorathiya said the party would continue to act as a strong opposition in Gujarat.
Huge celebrations broke out at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar.
The GMC elections were held for all 44 seats across 11 wards, with 130 candidates in the fray. The civic body has around 2.59 lakh voters.
According to the State Election Commission, Gandhinagar recorded a voter turnout of 59.25 per cent, while Thara registered 81.18 per cent, and Okha 63.27 per cent, respectively.
The elections were conducted using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).