‘Gujarat 2017 Gives BJP And Congress The Face Saver They Need’
Gujarat voter’s message to BJP: “Haraya nahi lekin daraya hai”
With 99 of 182 seats in Gujarat and 44 of 68 in Himachal Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party today reaffirmed its dominance on India’s political landscape. But the Congress walked away with the title of a strong challenger too.
“Both parties have got the face saver they needed,” said Swaraj India Founder Yogendra Yadav.
The Congress Party ran an aggressive campaign in Gujarat which ended with a tally of 80 seats along with their allies. The party sees it as a success for their newly anointed President Rahul Gandhi.
Where was the BJP in 2014? How much have they come down by. They have lost 60-70 assembly segments form the leads they gave Modi in 2014. That is a huge drop. That is a trend you are going to see across the country.Rajeev Gowda, Congress Spokesperson
The BJP meanwhile has brushed off the criticism that its weaker tally in Gujarat may be attributed to disruptions related to the Goods and Services Tax implementation and the Patidar agitation fueled by unemployed youth.
“There is a large section of young voters who cannot appreciate the importance of development,” said Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. The national vice-president of the BJP said young voters “are more aspirational and perhaps not in a position to appreciate the absence of development earlier”.
What is important to understand is there are a large section of young voters who are born after 1999, 2000. So they have not seen an absence or backlog of development. And therefore development is something which is a given. So they cannot appreciate the importance of development.Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, National Vice-President, BJP
Pollster Yashwant Deshmukh pointed out that the Congress may have made transient gains in Saurashtra and Kutch riding on the Patidar agitation but have lost ground in its traditional strongholds as a result.
The tribal votes that have shifted away from the Congress are not going to come back. That is not easy.Yashwant Deshmukh, MD & Chief Editor, CVoter Broadcast
The BJP has dubbed this election result as tremendous victory as it is set to rule Gujarat for the sixth time, but BloombergQuint’s Editorial Director Sanjay Pugalia said there is a bigger message here. “Gujarat ke voter ne haraya nahi, lekin daraya hai (Gujarat voter has not handed the BJP a defeat, but certainly a scare).”
Also Read: What Gujarat Is Telling India
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