The Congress has lost again. All the 8 seats that went to the bypolls were held by the Congress. But in this by-election, the seats went to the BJP. Not only that, they have won these seats by a greater margin than in the 2017 elections. Throughout the election, the Congress used the same slogan, “Gando Chalshe, Pan Gaddar Nahi” (We will go crazy but not be traitors). But the people prefer a party instead of their face. That is why the 5 Congress MLAs who were given tickets by the BJP in 2017 have won the elections with even more votes than before.
In this by-election, the Congress lost 1.42 lakh votes while the BJP got 12,101 votes. On the other hand, the BJP’s vote share rose by 6.79 per cent, as that of the Congress fell by 14 per cent. This is why the Chief Minister, excited by the result, called it a trailer for the 2022 elections. This result is most important for newly appointed president C.R. Patil. As soon as Patil came to power in the organisation of election management, he started shooting arrows from his own bow. By snatching all eight seats in Congress, he has shown that his goal of Mission 182 in 2022 is not a castle in the air.
The BJP faring better is a result of the planning of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. But the effect of Prime Minister Modi’s rallies was also seen in the poll results. The inauguration of the sea plane before the by-elections as well as other projects’ given as gifts to the public at the Girnar Ropeway and Statue of Unity have given immense benefits to the BJP.
Even during the Lok Sabha elections, the performance of the Congress was so bad that the Congress could not open an account. Something similar has happened in the by-election results. The Congress being wiped out in eight seats has prompted state president Amit Chavda and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani to accept moral responsibility for the defeat.
In this regard, a few times ago, the young Patidar leader Hardik Patel was appointed as the acting state president of the Congress, but the magic of Hardik Patel did not work even in the Patidar-dominated seats like Morabi. Both these seats were lost by the Congress. Hardik Patel tweeted after the results that the traders are changing sides due to the defeat. Thus, the youth leadership of the Congress has failed miserably.
