BJP Sweeps Gujarat, Congress Returns in Himachal, AAP Gains Enough to be Recognised as Ninth National Party
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 8: It was a mixed day for all the major political parties with the BJP retaining Gujarat with all-time high record number of seats while the Congress dislodged the BJP from Himachal Pradesh to return to power after five years and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after its prestigious victory in Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday was stunted in Gujarat and was a non-starter in Himachal. The AAP, which seems to have cut into the vote share of the Congress in Gujarat, however, achieved a major milestone having secured about 13 per cent of votes though it could win only five seats, a far cry from the party chief Arvind Kejriwal’s prediction of securing a clear majority to form a government of its own. But its vote share will help the Delhi chief minster to secure recognition as a national political party by the Election Commission of India. Once the final results were issued in the government gazette, the ECI could initiate the process for recognition of the AAP as a national party, the ninth such party in the country.
Though the Congress faced a total rout in Gujarat reduced to mere 17 seats from 77 in the 2017 elections, its success in throwing out the BJP from power in Himachal has come as a major solace for the party. With the AAP joining the fray making it a three-cornered contest, the Congress this time kept its electioneering in a very low key, apparently aware that it might not be easy passage for it in the prime minister Narendra Modi’s home state. None of its senior leaders even bothered to visit the state for campaigning except for a day’s visit each by the party president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi, who left his Bharat Jodo Yatra for a day to address a couple of rallies in the state.
The overwhelming voters’ support in Gujarat may have given a pleasant surprise to the BJP also which had set a target to win at least 150 seats and ended up clinching as high as 156 seats in the 182-member state Assembly making the thin opposition virtually a non-entity. So far, the record was held by the Congress which under the leadership of Madhavsinh Solanki had claimed the highest number of 149 seats in 1985 elections, but the BJP in 2022 has shattered its record and achieved a glory that may remain unbroken for a long time to come. The Congress this time is under threat of losing the status of the leader of the opposition as it secured two seats less than 19 required to be get the status of the recognised opposition unless the five-member AAP and three independents elected in the House formed one consolidated group.
The Congress party is set to return to power in Himachal Pradesh, dislodging the BJP. The win is much-needed for the otherwise deflated party. Chief Minister Jairam Thakur conceded the party’s defeat, saying he respected the verdict given by the people. The perceived lack of governance by the Jai Ram Thakur government is one of the reasons for the BJP to fail in state. Though Thakur was considered a clean politician, there was growing perception that the state lacked effective governance. The anger over the New Pension Scheme also cost the BJP dearly. The other factors that went against the BJP were the Agniveer scheme for recruitment in the Army, coinciding with rising unemployment in the wake of the pandemic, and the protests by apple farmers over falling profits.
Soon after the trend became clear that the BJP is heading for a landslide win in Gujarat, the party’s state unit president CR Paatil, the incumbent chief minister Bhupendra Patel and other leaders collected at the state headquarters “Shri Kamalam” in Gandhinagar to thank the prime minister for the party’s record-breaking victory. Paatil also announced that the new BJP ministry would take oath of office and secretary on December 12 with Bhupendra Patel staying on as the chief minister.
For the Congress, however, it would not be such a smooth journey in Himachal Pradesh with the threat of the BJP breaking away some of its elected members always looming large though it had secured five seats more than the majority mark of 35 in the 68-member state Assembly leaving BJP far behind at 25 with three seats going to independents, most of them the rebel BJP candidates. The Congress has summoned all its elected members to gather in Chandigarh or Shimla immediately to elect a new leader, but more importantly to herd them together to deny the other parties a chance to contact them to lure them away.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have been nominated as observers for the formation of government in Himachal Pradesh. Another Congress leader Rajeev Shukla is the All India Congress Committee in-charge for Himachal Pradesh. Party sources say the trio on Thursday evening will take a call regarding the venue of the meeting of the legislators.
With the BJP headed for a memorable victory in Gujarat, Modi on Thursday took to the twitter to thank the voters in the state. “Thank you Gujarat. I am overcome with a lot of emotions seeing the phenomenal election results. People blessed politics of development and at the same time expressed a desire that they want this momentum to continue at a greater pace. I bow to Gujarat’s Jan Shakti,” he said.
In another tweet, Modi congratulated the BJP workers saying “This historic win would never be possible without the exceptional hardwork of our Karyakartas, who are the real strength of our party.”
With the BJP poised for a defeat in Himachal Pradesh, PM Modi said, “I thank the people of Himachal Pradesh for the affection and support for the BJP. We will keep working to fulfil the aspirations of the state and raise people’s issues in the times to come.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday thanked the people of Himachal Pradesh for the “decisive win” of his party in the hill state and assured them that every promise made by the party would be fulfilled. “Heartfelt thanks to the people of Himachal Pradesh for this decisive victory. Hearty congratulations to all Congress workers and leaders. Your hard work and dedication really deserve all the credit for this victory,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
“I assure you again, every promise made to the people will be fulfilled at the earliest,” the former Congress chief said. The Congress had promised to bring back the old pension scheme and provide jobs to the youth among other things in its campaign in the hill state.
