With BJP claiming 25 and Congress getting only one, there was not much of a tug of war in Gujarat politics. However, prominent BJP faces like CR Patil and HM Amit Shah have won with mammoth margins 7,73,551 and 7,44,716. But who are the candidates in Gujarat that secured the win with lowest of the margins?

10. Chandu Shihora (Surendranagar)

In the Lok Sabha elections in Surendranagar, the BJP nominated Chandu Shihora, a community leader.

Surendranagar registered a dull 54.77% voter turnout on May 7 polling for phase III.

On the opposition front, the Congress positioned Rutvik Makwana, a current member of the legislative assembly from Chotila constituency, to strengthen its campaign.

The margin between the two ran close, and Shihora was 2,61,617 in the end, putting him on the 10th lowest margin for the win in the state.

9. Poonam Maadam (Jamnagar)

In the political arena of Jamnagar, Gujarat, the battle for the Lok Sabha constituency took a captivating turn.  

Poonam Maadam, a seasoned politician in the BJP’s stronghold in the region, was once again in the spotlight.

Challenging the BJP in its bastion, the Congress introduced a fresh face, JP Marvia, a young Patidar and an elected member of the Jamnagar District panchayat, signalling a strategic move to captivate the electorate with youthful energy.

Jamnagar registered 57.17% polling in phase III on May 7.

The margin between Marvia and Maadam, by the end of vote-counting, stood at 2,38,008, with Maadam securing 6,20,049 from her constituency.

8. Parbhu Vasava (Bardoli)

Parbhu Vasava, the incumbent MP and a former Congress MLA 

who switched to the BJP in 2014, won by a margin of 2,30,253 votes.

Challenging Vasava was Siddharth Chaudhary, a new face from the Congress, son of former Congress MP Amar Singh Chaudhary. Chaudhary, who has served as the President of the Vyara Taluka Panchayat and is a member of the Zilla Panchayat, is a prominent figure in the ST community.

7. Dhaval Patel (Valsad)

For Dhaval Patel, all is well if the end is well, as his name had brought unrest among local party cadres. 

Labelled as an outsider, Patel's selection led to dissatisfaction and the surfacing of dissenting voices within the BJP, mirroring incidents in Vadodara and Rajkot where opposition to the party’s candidate choices was publicly displayed.

Patel secured 7,64,226, winning by a margin of 2,10,704.

Second to Patel was Congress’ Anant Patel, securing a significant 5,53,522 votes.

6. Shobhana Baraiya (Sabarkantha)

In Sabarkantha, the political arena witnessed an intense battle between Baraiya of the BJP and Amarsinh Chaudhary of the Congress.

Sabarkantha in the northern part of Gujarat saw a voter turnout of 63.04% on the election day during phase III on May 7.

However, the BJP, which has long held sway in Gujarat, experienced opposition, particularly against its own candidate, Shobhna Baraiya.

Baraiya, who replaced Bhikhaji Thakor, faced resistance not only in the constituency, but also from within the BJP ranks.

All the dissent, however, would now turn into celebrations as Baraiya won by 1,55,682 votes, securing 6,77,318 for her.

Her rival, Amarsinh Chaudhary, however, was close second with 5,21,636 votes.

5. Rajesh Chudasama (Junagadh)

The BJP’s Rajesh Chudasama is the current MP from the Junagadh-Gir Somnath constituency.

A political figure with deep roots in local governance, Chudasama was previously an MLA from Mangrol in Junagadh district, elected under the BJP banner in 2012.

On the other side, Congress presented Hira Jotva, a multifaceted personality who juggles roles as a politician, farmer, and entrepreneur.

The contest between the two ran closer than the BJP would have liked, with Rajesh Chudasama getting 5,84,049 votes compared to Jotva’s 4,48,555 votes.

The margin at the end of the vote-counting was 1,35,494.

4. Mitesh Patel (Anand)

Mitesh Patel, popularly known as Bakabhai, representing the BJP in Anand, faced off against Amit Chavda from Congress. Both of them are seasoned politicians.

The Anand constituency, renowned for its decisive electoral battles, was again in the spotlight as these candidates geared up for the elections.

It registered a relatively healthy voter turnout of 63.96% in phase III of the May 7 polling.

In the early hours of vote-counting, Congress’ Amit Chavda was even leading. However, by the end of it, Chavda was just 89,939 behind, with Patel accumulating 6,12,484 votes for BJP.

3. Mansukh Vasava (Bharuch)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) named Chaitar Vasava as its candidate for the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency, which registered a massive 68.75% voter turnout in phase III polling on May 7.

Vasava, an MLA from the Dediapada assembly in Bharuch, was also in jail on charges related to an alleged extortion case and assault of forest officials.

The Bharuch seat has been a stronghold for the BJP since 1989, with Mansukh Vasava securing it for the party, now for seventh consecutive terms.

The seventh time, however, was not an easy road. Chaitar Vasava brought all his might to the fight, but in the end, fell short by only 85,696 votes.

2. Bharatsinh Dabhi (Patan)

Patan, the northern district of Gujarat saw one of the highest active voter engagement with 54.58% of voter turnout on the election day during phase III on May 7.

BJP’s Bharatsinhji Dabhi Thakor and Congress Chandanji Thakor faced each other in the Patan Lok Sabha constituency.

On the day of the vote-counting, it was a game of hide-and-seek between the two, as both of them kept one-upping each other through the count.

In the end, the margin came down to less than 50,000 votes, with BJP’s Bharat Dabhi winning by only 31,876 votes.

1. Geni Thakor (Banaskantha)

The lone warrior of Congress who stopped the clean sweep hat-trick of BJP in Gujarat, had many close calls throughout the vote-counting day, as it was a proper tug of war between Banaskantha’s Geni Thakor and her BJP counterpart, Dr Rekha Chaudhary.

Dr Chaudhary, a new face for the saffron party in the state, only fell short by 30,406 votes, giving Thakor the lowest margin of the win, but the most significant one at that.