Gujarat civic polls: BJP sweep leaves 10 out of 15 municipal corporations without official opposition as Congress fails to reach 10% seat mark

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has swept the local self-government body elections in Gujarat, winning all 15 municipal corporations with a massive majority. The scale of the victory is such that in 10 of these corporations, there may not even be an official opposition, as other parties failed to secure the minimum required seats.

As per general municipal rules, a party must win at least 10% of the total seats to qualify for the opposition benches. This condition has been met by the Congress in only five corporations: Ahmedabad, Anand, Bhavnagar, Gandhidham and Vapi.

Congress limited to a few pockets

In Ahmedabad, Congress managed to win 32 out of 192 seats, while BJP dominated with 160 seats. In Anand and Bhavnagar, Congress secured 8 seats each out of 52, while BJP got 43 and 44 seats respectively. In Gandhidham and Vapi, Congress won 11 seats each out of 52, while BJP took 41 and 37 seats.

However, in the remaining 10 corporations, Congress fell short of even the 10% mark. These include Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Nadiad, Surendranagar, Porbandar, Morbi, Navsari, Mehsana and Jamnagar.

BJP’s clean sweep in several cities

The situation is even more striking in places like Morbi and Porbandar, where Congress could not win a single seat and BJP secured all seats. In Surat, Surendranagar and Nadiad, Congress got just one seat each. In Navsari and Jamnagar, it managed only two seats.

In Rajkot, Congress won 7 seats, just one short of the 8 needed for opposition status. Similarly, in Mehsana, it secured 5 seats against the required 6.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also failed to make a notable impact, winning only 6 seats in total 4 in Surat and 2 in Jamnagar. Even combined, AAP and Congress do not reach the 10% mark in places like Surat, where BJP has a dominant 115 out of 120 seats.

While rules clearly define the 10% requirement, there have been instances in the past where ruling parties have still given opposition status to Congress, despite low numbers, sometimes even when it had just one seat. Whether such a move will be considered this time remains to be seen.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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