In a big victory for Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP today snatched all two Lok Sabha and four assembly seats from the Congress in Gujarat where by-polls were held on Sunday.
In emphatic endorsement of Modi's popularity, BJP won the Porbandar and Banaskantha Lok Sabha and Limbadi, Morva Hadaf, Jetpur and Dhoraji assembly seats, all of which were held by the Congress.
An elated Modi, who was so confident of the victory that he did not even campaign for party nominees, termed the defeat of Congress candidates in the two Lok Sabha seats as a "reflection of public anger" and an "ultimatum" for the Centre's ruling party ahead of the general elections due next year.
"The people of Gujarat have given a thumping victory to the BJP and Congress has fared miserably. BJP's emphatic victory and Congress's defeat in two Lok Sabha seats is in a way a message of public anger and an ultimatum to the Congress," he told reporters in Delhi.
The state Congress leadership accepted the defeat but accused the ruling BJP of misusing the state machinery and engaging in "coercive" tactics during the by-elections.
"Congress accepts the verdict of the people. During this by-elections ruling BJP misused the state machinery in a big way and had also given a free rein to anti-social elements," Leader of Opposition Shankarsinh Vaghela said as results poured in.
