Today is the moment of truth for all the principal players in the Gujarat election. The BJP looks set for a new tenure, after being in power for the last 27 years. While the Congress will hope to break out of the political wilderness, the AAP will look for a foothold in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.
EVM machines will unlock the fate of 20 members of CM Bhupendra Patel’s cabinet, 12 ex-ministers of the Vijay Rupani government, 13 Congress turncoats who fought on BJP tickets, and 19 BJP rebels who contested as independents seeking revenge.
Exit polls have predicted that the BJP is poised to ride to power in Gujarat for a record seventh time. If the forecast is accurate, it will be an unambiguous affirmation of Modi’s powerful connection with the people of Gujarat.
The counting of votes will begin at 8 am today, at 37 centres across the state under the vigil of 182 election officers assisted by 494 assistant election officers.
However, the five percent drop in the turnout as compared to the 2017 assembly election has divided pollsters in their assessment of the impact on parties’ tallies.
The poll was held amid the pall of the Morbi tragedy in which 140 people lost their lives. This time, people’s votes were sought on the planks of development, freebies, communal safety, and national security.
The Congress had in 2017 delivered one of its best performances in decades, winning 77 seats. The 2022 result will demonstrate if it was able to arrest its political slide. The stakes are higher for the new entrant, the AAP. A six percent vote share will help it attain the status of a national party.
The spotlight will also be on the politicians formerly known as the ‘Three Young Turks’: Hardik Patel who had led the fight for the Patidar quota; Alpesh Thakor who had advocated the preservation of the OBC quota; and Jignesh Mevani, the champion of Dalit rights.
Thirty-eight women contested in the 2022 election, the highest ever in Gujarat’s poll history. The BJP fielded 14 women candidates, as did the Congress. The electorate sent 13 women to the Gujarat legislative assembly in 2017.
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