Gujarat: BJP faces Congress-AAP combine in Lok Sabha polls
Ahmedabad: In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat, the BJP looks confident of retaining all 26 Lok Sabha seats, despite a combined opposition from Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, key constituents of the INDIA alliance.
Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7. Counting of votes will be held on June 4.
The Congress and AAP fought the 2022 state assembly polls separately, and the BJP got a record 156 of the 182 seats in the House. In the ensuing Lok Sabha poll, the Congress will contest 24 seats, while the AAP is fielding candidates from Bharuch and Bhavnagar.
The BJP is so confident of making a clean sweep that its state unit chief CR Paatil has routinely said the party’s sights are on a victory margin of five lakh votes in each seat.
The Congress would dearly hope for a repeat of the 2009 polls when it won 11 of the state’s 26 seats, while for the AAP, even a single win coming after its assembly showing, will bolster its status as the opposition party to watch out for.
Gujarat is divided into four regions, namely Saurashtra and Kutch, north Gujarat, south Gujarat and central Gujarat.
Saurashtra and Kutch: All the eight Lok Sabha seats in the region are with the BJP since a long time. The focus this time will be on Porbandar, where Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya has been fielded, and Rajkot, where his cabinet colleague Parshottam Rupala will try his luck. The two ministers have so far reached Parliament through the Rajya Sabha route.
North Gujarat: The seven seats in the region include Gandhinagar, represented by BJP heavyweight Amit Shah, as well as two seats in Ahmedabad, the state’s premier city. The party is brimming with confidence, while the only solace for the Congress is that it did well in the region in the 2004 and 2009 polls.
Central Gujarat: The six seats here include Vadodara and the tribal dominated Dahod, Panchmahal and Chhota Udaipur seats. The tribal areas of this region will be crucial for the BJP to repeat its clean sweep of 2014 and 2019.
South Gujarat: The region has five seats, including diamond polishing hub Surat, Bharuch and Navsari. The focus would be on Bharuch, which is being fought by the AAP in alliance with the Congress. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party has fielded Chaitar Vasava, MLA and upcoming tribal leader, against the BJP’s Mansukh Vasava, who has been MP from the seat several times. Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil will contest from Navsari, a seat he has won previously with state record margins.
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