Brushing aside all the speculations of dissidence in the BJP over massive change in the councilors, BJP led by chief minister Narendra Modi today flattened Congress by sweeping all the six municipal corporations with thumping two-third majority.
Addressing a large gathering in Ahmedabad today, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi termed BJP's victory in civic polls as 'unprecedented'. BJP had won all the six municipal corporations in 2005.
He said BJP bagged 80 per cent of the votes in almost all the places with the remaining being accounted for all the other parties and Independents put together. The poll victories came just a few weeks after the BJP won Kachlal in Anand district in a bye-election, bagging the assembly constituency--a Congress bastion--for the first time in the history of the state.
Of the total 555 seats, BJP won a whopping 441 seats, while Congress managed to win only 100 seats. Out of the total 189 seats in Ahmedabad, BJP grabbed 148 seats followed by Congress winning 38 seats and others winning 3 seats. Bhavnagar was first to fall BJP's kitty. Of the total 51 seats in Bhavnagar, BJP gained control over 41, while Congress was got 10 seats. In Surat, out of the total 114 seats, while BJP swept away 98 seats, Congress was left with only 14 seats. In other cities like Rajkot (69 seats), Vadodara (75 seats), Jamnagar (57 seats) and Bhavnagar (51 seats), BJP won 98, 58, 61, 35, and 41 seats, respectively, while Congress managed to grab 14, 11, 11, 16, and 10 seats, respectively.Over 2,100 candidates were in the fray for 555 seats for elections in six municipal corporations. Around 43 per cent voters had turned out to cast their votes on Sunday.