The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept Gujarat's local body elections, scripting a clean 15-0 victory across all municipal corporations and reinforcing its political dominance in the state ahead of next year's assembly polls.
In what is being seen as one of the largest electoral exercises in Gujarat, voting covered nearly 9,200 seats with over 4.18 crore eligible voters.
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Polling took place on Sunday for 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats, and 260 taluka panchayats.
The BJP delivered a commanding performance in key urban centres. In Ahmedabad, it secured 158 out of 192 seats, while in Surat it won 115 seats, leaving the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with four and the Indian National Congress (INC) with just one.
The party also dominated Rajkot with 65 of 72 seats and Vadodara with 69 of 76 seats.
Beyond cities, the BJP extended its lead in rural bodies. In 34 district panchayats comprising 1,090 seats, it won 568 seats, while Congress managed 77 and others 30.
In 260 taluka panchayats with a total of 5,234 seats, the BJP secured 2,397 seats, compared to Congress's 591, with others taking 329.
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The polls also marked the first elections in nine newly formed municipal corporations, including Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar, and Surendranagar.
Held under revised norms for OBC reservations, the elections involved extensive ward delimitation across districts.
The BJP, Congress, and AAP were the principal contenders, while All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen also fielded candidates in select constituencies.
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