Gujarat Election Result 2022: How BJP scored a landslide victory
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has not gone down across the country. His popularity remains very high.
FollowThe Gujarat mandate is unfolding in Bhartiya Janata Party's favour. In fact, the ruling BJP is poised for a record win, breaking the former chief minister Madhav Singh Solanki’s 149-seat tally in the 182-member state assembly.
In 1985, the Congress government under Madhav Singh Solanki had won 149 seats, which was the highest to date. The highest seat share that the BJP had won before 2022 was 127 under Narendra Modi in 2002. The party has been in power in the state since 1995.
During the campaign phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to the voters to cast their votes for the BJP and break all old records. Asianet News Network reached out to political scientists to understand how BJP overcame anti-incumbency and secured a landslide victory
Ashish Ranjan, Election Analyst
"After Madhav Singh Solanki's 149 mark, the BJP is crossing that mark. And also, it is for the first time in India's electoral history that a ruling party is going to win power seven consecutive times. I believe it is because of these reasons:
a) Vote splits
The Aam Aadmi Party has grabbed the Congress vote share. It does not mean that had the AAP not contested, the BJP would have lost the elections. If you see the vote percentage, the BJP has got around five per cent more than last election. So the BJP is the winner. The split in the votes has helped the BJP in getting a landslide victory.
b) Modi factor
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has not gone down across the country. His popularity remains very high. For Gujarat, he is the Prime Minister, Chief Minister. Gujarat has voted in the name of Modi. If you look at the results, wherever he carried out roadshows -- Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara -- the BJP has swept the elections."
Dr Ashutosh Singh,
Department of Political Science, University of Delhi
"The Gujarat mandate shows that Prime Minister Modi's popularity is still intact, and no one stands next to him. I don't think there will be any change in the near future. He would remain the undisputed No 1 leader in Gujarat. More or less, the situation would be the same at the national level for the 2024 general elections. In Delhi MCD elections too, the BJP did not perform as badly as was expected."
In this election, the AAP has made considerable gains in the Patidar and tribal seats. In the last election, the Congress had managed to win 77 seats while the BJP bagged 99, which was the worst-ever performance by the party.
Also Read: Gujarat Election Results 2022: 3 key takeaways from the mandate
