Will the government change in Gujarat, or will the dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party remain intact? The answer will be received on 8 December. At present, there is a BJP government in the state, and this trend has not been broken since 1995. If the BJP’s victorious chariot continues in 2022, it will be the party’s 7th consecutive victory in the western state. Now the question is, how, even after 27 years, how the hold of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in his home state remains strong even in the presence of many other parties?
After the earthquake in Kutch region in the year 2001, the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi worked fiercely in the area. He accelerated the Gujarat economy and started the Vibrant Gujarat Summit for investment. According to experts, Modi is credited for changing the image of Gujarat. He has held the command of the state for three consecutive times.
Gujarat’s GDP growth was at an all-time high when Modi was the CM, and Gujarat also topped the ‘ease of doing business’ tables as compared to other states. Even during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP resorted to the Gujarat model. The party won in Gujarat in 2017 even after Modi became the prime minister. Now the BJP is talking of a ‘double engine government’ with the government at the centre.
The BJP is said to have a connection with the voters in Gujarat. Also, a strong organisation converts Modi’s popularity into votes. For more than two decades, the party has maintained its vote share. At the same time, in the current elections too, PM Modi and many veteran leaders of the country have registered their presence. The new slogan of the party is ‘Aa Gujarat, Main Banayu Che’ and along with this, the BJP has made a mention of ‘Gujarati Asmita’ during the campaign. In the year 2017 also, PM Modi had to face the blows of GST and demonetisation raised by the Congress through Gujarat’s identity and development. In the last elections, due to the continuous rallies of PM Modi, the BJP was ahead of other parties. At the same time, the Gujarati speeches of Modi and Amit Shah in the rallies also played a big role in connecting with the public.
On Thursday, the commission announced the dates for the elections. Under this, voting will be held in two phases for the 182-seat assembly of the state. In the first phase, voting for 89 seats will be held on 1 December. Whereas, in the second phase, 93 seats will vote on 5 December. The counting of votes will take place on 8 December along with Himachal Pradesh. The hill state will go to polls on 12 November.