Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation elections: BJP, Congress, AAP score 41, 2, 1 in Gandhinagar

The BJP has won the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections in a landslide victory on Tuesday, marking the first electoral success for the new chief minister, Bhupendra Patel.

The 44-seat GMC had gone to polls on Sunday. While BJP won 41 seats, Congress got two and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) one.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted "results of the local body polls across Gujarat and Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation reaffirm the deep-rooted bond between the people of Gujarat and BJP. Gratitude to the people for repeatedly blessing us. Kudos to all BJP karyakartas for working hard at the grassroots".


The win in Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, which is the first in a decade for the BJP, also underlined the role of AAP majorly eating into the opposition Congress' voter base. While the party had emerged as the opposition by winning 27 seats in Surat Municipal Corporation, it could only bag one in Gandhinagar. But this benefitted the BJP in a big way. However, AAP managed to corner 17% of the total votes.

This election was crucial for Bhupendra Patel as this was the first electoral battle after the sudden removal of the Rupani government and his subsequent appointment.

Speaking to media persons at the BJP headquarters, Patel said BJP state president CR Patil had enquired how the BJP failed to get the other three seats in Gandhinagar. The BJP won 20 out of 24 seats in Thara, while the Congress got only four seats.

The BJP retained Okha municipality by winning 34 out of 36 seats, while two seats went to the Congress. However, in a setback to the BJP, the Congress emerged victorious in Bhanvad by winning 16 out of 24 seats.