Focus On Gujarat: BJP Aims For Third Consecutive Clean Sweep, AAP-Congress Alliance Targets Inroads

Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party's stronghold, where the Narendra Modi-led party has ruled since 1995 and won a clean sweep in the 2019 and 2014 general elections, will vote for the ongoing polls on May 7, 2024. The voting will take place in a single phase for all 26 parliamentary constituencies.

The 44-day-long Lok Sabha election will enter its third phase of polling, and Gujarat will be one of them. The first phase witnessed a voter turnout of 66.14%, while the second phase saw a voter turnout of 66.71%.

Phase 1 of the elections took place on April 19, covering 102 constituencies, followed by phase 2 on April 26, covering 88 constituencies. Lakshadweep recorded an 84.16% voter turnout—the highest among all 21 states that voted on April 19, while Bihar recorded the lowest number of voters at 49.26%. During the second phase of voting, Manipur topped the list by registering the highest voter turnout at 84.85%, while Uttar Pradesh saw the lowest voter share at 55.19%.

The BJP is certain that it will repeat history and maintain its winning streak. The slogan “Aab Ki Baar 400 Par”, given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reaffirms their confidence to do so. On the other hand, the Indian National Congress would seek to repeat their 2009 election performance, where they won 11 out of 26 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party was successful in making inroads in the state during the 2022 assembly elections, winning 5 seats with a vote share of 12.9%.

Under the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, AAP and Congress will contest the election together in five states, including Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh, and Goa.

It will be intriguing to see this political alliance cross swords with charismatic leader Modi and his party.

The constituencies in Gujarat scheduled for voting include Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Amreli, Anand, Banaskantha, Anand, Bardoli, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Chhota Udaipur, Dahod, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Kachchh, Rajkot, Porbandar, Valsad, and Vadodara, amongst others.

Voting will not take place in the diamond city of Surat, as the BJP's nominee, Mukesh Dalal, was elected unopposed after the nomination of Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected. The other candidates have also withdrawn from the battle.

BJP:

In the 2019 and 2014 general elections, the saffron party remained undefeated and won all 26 seats in the state with a vote share of 62.21% and 59.05%, respectively.

Congress:

In both the 2019 and 2014 elections, the party failed to secure any seats in the BJP-dominated state and reported a vote count of 32.11% and 32.86%, respectively.

AAP:

The party was unsuccessful in bagging any seats in the 2014 election, with a vote share of 1.17%. In 2019, the party contested five seats but failed to win any.

Congress- AAP Alliance:

The Congress has formed an alliance with Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party to shake the dominance of the BJP in the state. According to the seat sharing code, Congress will contest in 24 seats, while AAP aims to fight for the two seats in Bhavnagar and Bharuch.

BJP:

The party has fielded candidates for 26 seats. The ruling party strives to remain unbeatable and attain success by winning its third consecutive election. Narendra Modi's "Aab Ki Baar 400 Par" slogan has raised the stakes even further. The plan is not just to remain victorious but to bag all 26 seats in the state.

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar. He will compete against Congress’ Sonal Patel. The BJP has remained undefeated in this constituency since 1989. The veteran NDA leader LK Advani represented Gandhinagar in the Parliament till 2019, later succeeded by Shah.

• Porbandar has witnessed the BJP's reign since 1991, except for 2009, when it saw Congress' Vitthal Radadia conquer the seat. For the forthcoming phase three polls, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is the candidate from this constituency against Congress’ Lalitbhai Vasoya.

• Bhavnagar and Bharuch will see the combined might of the INDIA bloc allies AAP and Congress. The BJP has given a ticket to Nimuben Bambhaniya, while the AAP has fielded Umesh Makwana in Bhavnagar. The saffron party nominated Mansukhbhai Vasava, who will be re-contesting from Bharuch against AAP’s Chaitar Vasava.

• Since 1989, the BJP has had a strong foothold over Rajkot, except for 2009, when Congress leader Kunvarji Bavalia claimed the seat. Cabinet Minister Parshottam Rupala will be contesting this time against Congress’ Paresh Dhanani.  

• Jamnagar’s BJP candidate, Poonamben Hematbhai Maadam, will be locking horns with the Congress’ JP Marvia. Maadam is also the richest candidate among the other nominees contesting from Gujarat.

Kshatriya community leader Raj Shekhawat had earlier resigned from the BJP over the controversial comment made by Union Minister and Rajkot Lok Sabha candidate Parshottam Rupala. His remark claimed that several Rajput rulers had collaborated with the British.

“The party leadership has not taken any action against him (Rupala). Therefore, I am resigning from the primary membership of the party.” said Shekhawat.

To control the damage caused, Rupala publicly apologised for it. During the BJP's rallies and road shows in Gujarat, thousands of protestors disrupted the rallies by shouting anti-BJP and anti-Rupala slogans. Senior BJP leaders, along with Gujarat BJP president CR Patil, had conducted multiple meetings with the Kshatriya community to mitigate the situation.

Further, during a recent address by Narendra Modi in Jamnagar on May 2, the Gujarat Rajput Samaj Organisation's Coordination Committee made a press statement that they would respect the dignity of the Prime Minister's office. They will not protest during the Prime Minister's visit.