Gujarat election results: After 10 years, Godhra votes to bring back BJP — thanks to an ex-Congress man

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses his supporters during an election campaign meeting ahead of the second phase of Gujarat state assembly elections, in Nadiad, India December 11, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave - RC1469DFBF40

The victory wasn't as resounding as Amit Shah would have liked, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) still managed to retain Gujarat. The BJP won a number of seats by small margins, but one in particular caught the eye.

Godhra, where one of independent India's worst riots took place in 2002, has elected a BJP candidate after a decade of siding with the Congress.

It was in this constituency where a train coach ferrying Hindu activists was torched in February 2002, triggering communal violence across the state.

Just after the 2002 riots, Godhra had elected a BJP candidate Bhatt Hareshkumar Induprasad before a Congress leader wrested the seat five years later.

But the story doesn't end here and perhaps it is another testament to the fact that when it comes to ground realities, an individual is bigger than the party.

CK Raulji, who won the Godhra seat for Congress for two consecutive terms i.e. 2007-2012 and 2012-2017, has won again this time — but as a BJP candidate. He defected to BJP in August earlier this year. He was among the seven MLAs who were expelled by the Congress in early August after they cross-voted in Rajya Sabha elections.

Watch: BJP Wins In Gujarat - But It's Far From Convincing

Raulji's victory came with a very slim margin of just 258 votes which is, in fact, the second lowest among all constituencies in Gujarat after the Congress' 170-vote victory in Kaprada.

The Congress fielded Rajendra Parmar, a former Janata Dal leader, from the seat this time. Parmar, who belongs to Bakshi Panch, a dominant OBC community in the town, was in a direct contest with the sitting MLA Raulji.

The slim victory margin means the BJP still has a lot of work to do when it comes to boosting the party's image in the constituency.

(With inputs from PTI)