Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | BJP set to win Gujarat with record breaking margins, trails in Himachal

Representative image (Image: AP)

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Do you remember Germany pounding Brazil 7-1 in the 2014 Fifa World cup semi-final? Germany was the stronger team and favourite to win, but none expected the final humiliating score line.

We are reminded of that match after watching BJP vs. Congress in the Gujarat Assembly elections. Leads at the time of writing indicate BJP on course to win in 159 out of 182 seats. That’s 60 seats more than what it had won in 2017. Moreover, its vote share is 53 percent, something which no party has achieved in a major state election in the recent past.

These results show that BJP’s tactic of rotating candidates is working and the rebel problem within the party does not seem to be a big issue at the moment, writes my colleague Viju Cherian in our live blog.  They also reaffirm BJP’s chances of retaining power at the Centre in 2024.

Congress is limping in far behind with 15 seats, 62 seats fewer than in 2017. The numbers reflect the familiar problems of the Congress — a lack of focus and lack of leadership.

Of course, the race is neck-and-neck in Himachal Pradesh, which has a track record of anti-incumbency. The BJP might well have to give up power in a big loss of face for its national president JP Nadda.

The other takeaway is the rise of AAP which looks set to become a national party as it is on course to win 8 seats in Gujarat with a near 13 percent vote share. It is fast occupying the space vacated by the Congress to become the main opposition to the BJP in several states.

It will now look to contest polls in many states in 2023 such as Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and BJP-run Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

“It will be targeting states where the BJP and Congress are in direct fight and there is less clutter,” says political analyst Amitabh Tiwari. Read more here.

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Watch out for our continued coverage of election results and their implications on www.moneycontrol.com.

Ravi KrishnanMoneycontrol Pro