Gujarat’s local body elections may be some days away, but 722 candidates could be blowing the victory bugle. They have been declared uncontested winners without a single vote being cast.
Congress candidates say they were pushed out, lured with cash, promised BJP tickets, and pressured by their own relatives to withdraw.
This is amid 1,663 withdrawals across municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats, where elections are due for 9,952 seats. Official data from the State Election Commission confirms the numbers. They may climb further, as returning officers were still updating entries as of 8 pm on Thursday. The 722 uncontested seats include three where by-elections are due.
Where the numbers come from
The highest number of uncontested wins are from nagar palikas. Of the 7,819 nominations filed for 2,624 seats across 84 nagar palikas going to polls on April 26, 1,525 forms were cancelled. Of the remaining 6,294 valid forms, 468 were withdrawn — leaving 383 seats uncontested.
Taluka panchayats recorded the highest number of withdrawals. For 5,234 seats across 260 taluka panchayats, 20,638 nominations were received. The SEC cancelled 5,700 of them. Of the 14,938 valid forms, 806 were withdrawn and 250 seats declared uncontested, leaving 13,882 candidates still in the race.
In the 15 municipal corporations where 1,004 seats are up for election, 43 seats went uncontested. A total of 133 forms were withdrawn from 3,321 valid nominations.
Congress alleges threats and inducements
The Congress party and several of its candidates have alleged that BJP leaders, police, community figures and even family members of candidates pressured them to withdraw.
One woman from Nava Vadaj ward in Ahmedabad had a Congress ticket. She was allegedly asked to name a price for withdrawing her nomination.
She said she was offered plastering of her house and other facilities. She refused, saying she would never betray the Congress because this was the party her father-in-law belongs to and one she hopes her son will join too.
Another Congress candidate from Viratnagar ward said she received calls from influential contacts, including her business partners, asking her to step down.
She said she was offered a BJP ticket in the next term.
A Congress office-bearer from Nikol ward told a media outlet the pressure was so intense that the party had to shift four candidates to different offices to keep them safe. He said senior BJP leaders were behind the pressure.
Candidates were reportedly so fearful that they requested the party not to make their names public before filing nominations. They told a section of the media that the BJP used police, money, social pressure and blackmail to force withdrawals.
The Congress has already lost six candidates for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections. Five withdrew and one went missing on the day of filing nominations. The party is now planning a statewide protest called ‘Lokshahi Bachao Andolan’.
BJP’s poll promises
The BJP has rolled out an extensive list of promises for Ahmedabad. These include extending the Sabarmati Riverfront by 11.5 km to GIFT City in Gandhinagar, a slum-free Ahmedabad, 33 per cent reservation for women in municipal recruitment, geo-tagging of all municipal projects for transparency and real-time monitoring, construction of 17 new bridges, an AI-driven traffic management system, green buses, increased green cover, 100 per cent solar energy production saving Rs 3,000 crore annually, free health check-ups and home-visit diagnostics for senior citizens above 70, and a mini sports complex in every zone of the city.
However, a majority of these projects have already been announced in the AMC’s budget for 2026-27.
Also Read: Crores In, Votes Out: The Curious Case of Gujarat’s ‘Paper’ Parties https://www.vibesofindia.com/crores-in-votes-out-the-curious-case-of-gujarats-paper-parties/
