1. The BJP is ahead in 146 seats in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. The Congress, which delivered a strong performance in the last election, is leading in 26 seats.

2. Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP, which is eyeing a big entry into the Gujarat political landscape with this election, is ahead in eight seats. Gujarat has 182 seats and the majority mark stands at 92.

3. In Himachal Pradesh, which has 68 seats, the BJP took an early lead but the Congress surged after an hour of counting, narrowing the gap.

4. The BJP, which informally launched its campaign in Gujarat months ago, upped the glitz quotient. Led by PM Modi, the BJP campaigned with all its might and star power. The Prime Minister held over 30 rallies after the elections were announced.

5. In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP is banking on the achievements of PM Modi for a smooth transition to a second term, even though the state diligently swings between the BJP and the Congress every five years.

6. The message to Himachal Pradesh was of Central development, with PM Modi flagging off a Vande Bharat Express ahead of elections and opening a new AIIMS at Bilaspur. In many party hoardings, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur was missing.

7. AAP practically dropped out of the race in Himachal to focus its energies in Gujarat and Delhi. In Gujarat, Mr Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held multiple rallies — neck and neck with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As a counter to the BJP’s “Phir ek baar Modi Sarkaar” (Another term or Modi government), it has raised the slogan of “parivartan (change).

8. Exit polls, which do not always get it right, have predicted that AAP will merely register its presence in Gujarat, barely going beyond a single digit score. But an AAP foothold in Gujarat is expected to bring a change in the binary politics of Gujarat and present the BJP with a more persistent and strategic opponent than the Congress.

9. The Grand Old party, focused on its big picture Bharat Jodo Yatra, is seen as putting up a token campaign in Gujarat, where it won 77 seats in 2017, and in Himachal Pradesh, where the trend of the last few decades gives it a bonus point. In Delhi civic polls — which had more voters than in Himachal Pradesh — the Congress won only nine seats.

10. Over the last two years, the Congress lost two of its key leaders from Gujarat, Ahmed Patel and Madhavsinh Solanki. For leaders of the Gujarat Congress, Ahmed Patel was the mentor and go-to man. There was no one to pick up the slack, with Rahul Gandhi, who had led from the front in 2017, being busy with the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Post a comment