Modi blows 2014 bugle from Gujarat platform
Gujarat voted for the BJP under chief minister Narendra Modi for the third straight term, but did not probably give him enough to catapult him as his party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2014. The state also clearly voted out a third force while accepting Modi’s development plank, but did not totally reject the Congress’s dream-home either.
The BJP’s final tally of 115 seats out of a total 182 indicated that Gujaratis were ready to take the ruling party’s inclusive growth story forward while also voting for the personality cult that was a strong feature of the assembly elections held this month. The state also showed that it did not mind taking along brave leaders such as Keshubhai Patel.
Besides Patel, Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela won, although the party’s chief Arjun Modhwadia and its legislature party leader Shaktisinh Gohil, lost. Even BJP state president RC Faldu lost.
Political observers said this suggests that the opposition in the new Gujarat assembly could be RSS-powered, with Vaghela leading the Congress and Keshubhai, sitting on the same side.
Although Modi described the victory as a “hat-trick”, the Congress bettered its score to 61, two seats more than 2007. Modi, speaking outside the BJP headquarters in Khanpur, mocked “poll pundits for getting it wrong” and asked people to “forgive him for any mistake that he might have made” as the crowd began to shout “NM for PM” towards the end of his speech.
This is the closest Modi has come to apologising after the 2002 Godhra riots.
Repeatedly crediting
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