Gujarat latest updates: Amit Shah wins by a margin of 7.45 lakh votes in Gandhinagar, Congress clinches Banaskantha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state is set for a one-sided contest yet again

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to score a hat-trick of clean sweeps in Gujarat Lok Sabha polls, but retained 25 out of 26 seats in the state.

The Indian National Congress' (INC) candidate Geniben Thakor defeated her BJP rival Rekhaben Chaudhuri by a margin of over 30,000 votes.

Gujarat is the home state of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The BJP had won all 26 seats in 2014 as well as 2019.

Update at 5.30 pm: Amit Shah has won the Gandhinagar constituency with a margin of 7.45 lakh votes. He has bettered his own record of winning the seat with a margin of 5.57 lakh votes in 2019.

Congress' Geniben Thakor is ahead of her BJP rival Rekhaben Chaudhuri by over 30,000 votes.

Update at 2.15 pm: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has snatched back the lead in Patan from the Indian National Congress (INC), but the latter is ahead in Banaskantha now, leading by a slender margin of over 2,600 votes, according to the Election Commission website. With a lead of over 6.14 lakh votes, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has bettered his 2019 victory margin.

Update at 1.20 pm: The Indian National Congress (INC) is holding on to its lead in Patan, potentially denying the Bharatiya Janata Party a hat-trick of clean-sweeps in Lok Sabha polls. BJP is currently lead in 25 seats, with Home Minister Amit Shah ahead in Gandhinagar by a distance. He is leading by a margin of over 5 lakh votes at present.

Update at 12.50 pm: The Congress has sprung a surprise by maintaining its lead in two seats in Gujarat, considered a fortress of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The latter is currently lead across 24 seats, with Home Minister Amit Shah ahead in Gandhinagar by a distance. He is leading by a margin of over 4.72 lakh votes at the moment.

Update at 12 noon: BJP leading in 24 seats, while Congress is now leading in Banaskantha, while retaining its lead in Patan. Amit Shah is leading in Gandhinagar with a margin of over 3.86 lakh votes.

Update at 11.30 am: BJP leading in 25 seats, Congress' Chandanji Thakor continues to hold on his lead in Patan. Amit Shah is leading in Gandhinagar with a margin of 2.96 lakh votes.

Update at 11.10 am: BJP leading in 25 seats, Congress in one seat (Patan). Amit Shah is leading in Gandhinagar by a margin of 2.7 lakh votes.

Update at 10.30 am: BJP leading in 25 seats, Congress back in the lead in Patan. Amit Shah is leading in Gandhinagar with a margin of over 1.67 lakh votes.

Update at 10 am: The BJP is leading in all 26 constituencies across Gujarat, Amit Shah is comfortably ahead in Gandhinagar.

Update at 9.30 am: The BJP is leading 22 seats in Gujarat, while the INDIA Bloc is leading in 4. Home minister Amit Shah is leading from Gandhinagar.

Contrary to expectations, INDIA Bloc, led by Congress, has performed well so far in a state that is seen as BJP's fortress. The Congress is leading in Banaskantha, Patan, Sabakantha and Junagadh constituencies at the moment.

A key constituency in the state – Surat – was added to BJP’s kitty even before a single vote was cast. Its Lok Sabha candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed on April 23, 2024, after the Election Commission rejected Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination, while the other candidates decided to withdraw from the contest.

Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has barely thrown up surprises in Lok Sabha polls in the last two decades, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) completely dominating the electoral scene.

The ruling party won all 26 seats in 2014 as well as in 2019. As counting for Lok Sabha elections 2024 begins in the state, the results are unlikely to be any different, with the BJP expected to decisively trounce INDIA Bloc allies Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

News18 Mega Exit Poll has predicted that the incumbent BJP will retain all 26 seats in its fortress. The state has always witnessed a direct fight between Congress and BJP, though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did make a dent into the former’s vote share in the 2022 assembly polls.

Also read: Gujarat Exit Polls 2024 Updates: BJP on verge of clean sweep, likely to win all 26 seats, predicts News18 Mega Exit Poll

This time round, Congress and AAP are contesting together as members of the INDIA bloc. Home minister Amit Shah’s victory from the prestigious seat of Gandhinagar – held by party patriarch Lal Krishna Advani until 2019 - is seen as a certainty; it remains to be seen if he can better his margin of victory in 2019, which was the highest (5.57 lakh) for the seat.

Other key candidates include former Gujarat minister Parshottam Rupala from Rajkot, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya from Porbandar and BJP's Mansukhbhai Vasava who will take on Congress-AAP's joint candidate Chaitar Vasava in Bharuch.