BJP sweeps Saurashtra-Kutch in Lok Sabha elections, fails in Banaskantha
Updated: Jun 5th, 2024
In a resounding victory, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has clinched victory in all eight Lok Sabha constituencies of the Saurashtra-Kutch region, including Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Surendranagar, and Kutch.
Despite the cogent backlash of Kshatriya protests across the state and internal clashes in the party, the BJP sweeps Saurashtra.
However, its 26-26 streak has been broken by Geni Thakor, the debutant Lok Sabha candidate of Congress in Banaskantha.
Let’s talk about Gujarat LS results
The much talked-about and controversial leader of BJP, Parsotam Rupala secured a victory with 4.84 lakh votes in Rajkot. As per experts,
Union Minister Rupala’s win comes due to his years of strong network of the BJP in Saurashtra. Amid Kshatriya protests, the BJP did not see any tug of war in Gujarat.
In Bhavnagar, Nimu Bambhaniya, garnered a 4.55 lakh vote margin while contesting against AAP+Congress candidate Umesh Makwana.
In Saurashtra, the voter turnout was 4% less than the previous Lok Sabha elections. When the polls were held on May 7, there was a voter turnout of 55.44% among about one and a half crore voters.
Despite the state’s lowest voter turnout in Amreli- 50%, Bharat Sutariya of BJP won with a margin of 3,21,068 votes.
The lead of the BJP has decreased in Junagadh, Surendranagar and Kutch seats compared to the last election, while it increased by more than one lakh in Bhavnagar, Rajkot, and Porbandar. Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya has won from the Porbandar seat with a margin of 3.80 lakh.
Jamnagar game
The place where three BJP crosshairs have been accused of ‘anti-party’ activities, Poonam Maadam has won with a margin of 2,38,008 votes in Jamnagar.
Rajesh Chudasama of BJP has defeated Hira Jota of the Indian National Congress (INC) with a margin of 1.35 lakhs in Junagadh.
In Kutch, BJP’s Vinod Chavda has created a hat trick by being elected as an MP for the third consecutive term.
A brief analysis
The rest of the candidates who were contesting the election were making a debut in that constituency. Interestingly, BJP’s no-repeat policy seems to have aced in the elections. This time, two union ministers have been fielded for the first time in Rajkot and Porbandar.
The Gujarat Assembly elections of 2022 saw a triangular battle, but in 2024, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had an alliance. However, neither of the two parties could benefit from this alliance. Congress in Rajkot and AAP in Bhavnagar have suffered heavy defeats amid hopes of victory.
What worked in favour of the regime in Gujarat was the Ram Mandir consecration, India’s image abroad, etc. However, amid issues like the economy and the opposition, tax burden including GST, unemployment of the educated youth, inflation, and delay in developmental work, the BJP was successful in drawing voters to the booth.
Gujarat bye-elections
Arvind Ladani, the turncoat leader who switched sides and joined BJP was contesting from Manavadar. Ladani won with a margin of 31,016 votes, defeating Congress’ Hari Patel who got 51,001 votes.
The former Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia who switched sides after 40 years won in Porbandar bye-elections with a margin of 1,16,808 votes. This means Modhwadia defeated Congress candidate Raju Odedara with 86% more votes.
However, there has been a significant decline in BJP’s support base in the state, with the party facing a massive setback in seats which was expected to win with a 5 lakh margin.
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