In Gujarat, all eyes on Ahmedabad

In the principal city, Cong has not tallied more than three seats since 1990

GN Bureau | December 18, 2017


#Gujarat   #Elections   #Politics   #BJP   #Congress   #Narendra Modi  


All eyes are on Gujarat as the vote count is on, but in the state all eyes might be on Ahmedabad.

The chief city, and the early capital before the planned township of Gandhinagar came up, has 16 assembly constituencies. Since the rise of the BJP, that is, since 1990, the party has been very successful in Ahmedabad, which has been like the hub of Hindutva.

In 1980, in its electoral debut, the BJP won only one of the 12 seats, and the 1985 result was no different. But in 1990 it wrested ten out of 12 seats. In 1995, with total seat increase, the tally went up to a clean wash, 13-0.  In 1998, it was 11-3. In the three elections led by Narendra Modi – in 2002, 2007 and 2012 – the BJP count was 12, 11 and 14 respectively.

The Congress, thus, has to content with this scoreline since 1990: 2, 0, 3, 2, 3, 2.

Notably, Modi as chief minister had chosen Maninagar in the city as his constituency. So did his successor Anandiben Patel (Ghatlodia) as well as party president Amit Shah at one point of time (Ghatlodia).

This time, if it is going to be different, Ahmedabad might be an indicator: if the Patidar movement has any impact, it will show up first here.

Comments

 

Other News

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Delhi moves to real-time traffic management

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved implementation of the ITMS Project by Delhi Police at an estimated cost of Rs.1,789.52 crore, inclusive of taxes. The project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three

MDR on UPI: Can sustainability come without weakening the network?

The extraordinary transaction volumes and value (₹29.82 Lakh crore in August 2026 alone) of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have made it not only an Indian success story, but a global one. In 2024, UPI accounted for nearly 49% of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, with more th

The Xi-Trump summit: The unending rivalry

Diplomacy is akin to an art, wherein the summitry, conflict resolution and negotiations form apt constituents of the entire context of deal making and “playing for keeps” in the international arena. The Xi-Trump summit in Washington last week, in which the American president broke all conside

“Indians, yet treated like outsiders”

Moving to Delhi-NCR for education can be an exciting experience for students from Northeast India. It gives us a chance to meet new people, experience a different culture and become more independent. But living away from home also comes with challenges that people who have not experienced them may not al

Import duty on major edible oils cut

The government has reduced the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on major imported crude edible oils with a view to moderating domestic edible oil prices, providing relief to consumers and mitigating inflationary pressures arising from the sharp increase in international edible oil prices.  

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter