BJP Sweeps Gujarat Local Body Polls, Wins All 15 Municipal Corporations

The governing BJP yet again established its supremacy in Gujarat on Tuesday, sweeping all 15 municipal corporations and 78 of the 84 municipalities, reiterating its complete dominance in cities and towns. It also performed strongly in rural regions, winning 33 of the 34 district panchayats and 220 of the 260 taluka panchayats. AAP won the Narmada district panchayat, while Congress took the Khadia seat in Ahmedabad, a BJP stronghold for 46 years. BJP swept major cities including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar cities while making debuting in nine newly formed municipal corporations - Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar. Of the total 1,044 seats in 15 cities, BJP won a staggering 937, Congress 95, and AAP and others got six seats each. Most of AAP's gains as a debutant in Surat city in 2021, when it won 27 seats out of 120, were reversed as its tally fell to just four seats in a single ward. In the towns, BJP won 78 of the 84 municipalities for which polls were held while Congress won six. In the last elections, in 2021, 81 municipalities had gone to polls, with BJP winning 75, Congress four and others two. "The bond between Gujarat and BJP gets even stronger! Gratitude to the people of Gujarat for a sweeping mandate in the mahanagarpalika, nagar palika, taluka panchayat and zilla panchayat elections held across the state," PM Modi tweeted. Once the results were in, Aam Aadmi Party and Congress both staked claim as the No. 2 party in Gujarat.