Gujarat loves Hindutva By Ashok Kumar Modi proves it again Gujarat loves Hindutva By Ashok Kumar The BJP domination in Gujarat is complete. First the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, then the district-taluka panchayat election and now the five municipal corporations poll. The BJP registered a very impressive show, delivering a severe jolt to its rivals, by inflicting one defeat after another, each one more humiliating than the last one. It was an absolute surrender by the Congress as the BJP had swept the municipal corporation election with two-third majority in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. In Vadodara, the BJP came to power with the highest margin ever with a shocking defeat to all Congress bigwigs and some Independent strongmen. Of a total of 84 seats in Vadodara, the BJP registered victory in 74 seats, whereas the Congress was able to win only six seats. One seat went to others and three seats are yet to be declared. In Surat, the BJP'sown expectations of winning 70 to 75 seats were proved wrong as the party'stally exceeded expectations. The BJP won a record 90 seats out of 102 seats?31 seats more than the previous election. The Congress could muster only 11 seats and one went to an Independent. In Rajkot, where the Congress was in power, the BJP won 59 seats of the total 69 seats in 23 wards, gaining 34 more seats. The Congress tally went down from 44 to 10. In the 51-member Bhavnagar municipal corporation, the BJP won 39 seats and the Congress got 12. The CPM, which had gained four seats in the last election had no reason to cheer at all this time. Jamnagar saw the BJP getting 37 seats as nine went to the Congress, four seats to Independents and one to the Samajwadi Party. The BJP added more feathers in its cap by winning the municipalities of Padra, Una, Mehsana and Morbi. It registered victory in 17 seats in Padra, while nine seats went to the Congress and one to an Independent. In Una, the BJP bagged 27 of the 36 seats and the Congress won nine seats. In Mehsana municipality, the BJP captured 28 seats, while 13 seats went to the Congress and one to an Independent. The 42-member Morbi municipality saw 25 seats going to BJP, 15 to the Congress and one seat each being split between an Independent and a smaller party. The poll results indicated that the voters were no more carried away by the emotions or the traditional caste and creed factors or even anti-incumbency factor, which were considered major parameters for psephologists. Addressing a large gathering of party members, workers and Cabinet ministers like I.K. Jadeja, Ashok Bhatt and Anandiben Patel, the Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Narendra Modi asked party workers to beware of those who called the results ?Modi'svictory?. Stating that it was the victory of BJP'sworkers and people of the state, he said the party was an organization, where every worker, member and leader performed his duty and the victory was a result of their efforts. City Total Seats BJP Congress Ind/Others Rajkot  69 59 10 00 Jamnagar 51 37 09 05 Bhavnagar 51 39 12 00 Surat 102 90 11 01 Vadodara 84 74 06 01

by WEB DESK

Dec 25, 2005, 12:00 am IST

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