It is over. The Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to form the next government in Gujarat. Call it the Hindutva or development effect, Narendra Modi has proved everyone wrong.
Modi is set to retain power in Gujarat as the party was poised for a fourth straight victory in the Assembly elections, winning 20 seats and leading in 99 constituencies.
The opposition Congress has won seven seats and was ahead in 50 seats in a performance that was marginally better than in the last elections in 2002 when it won 51 seats. 'Others' were ahead in six seats.
The BJP's victory, seen as a powerful endorsement of the 55-year-old Chief Minister, will bring in a slightly reduced number of seats from the 127 it had in the 182-member Assembly in 2002.
The saffron party did well in all the regions, including those hit by dissidents like Keshubhai Patel but dropped some seats in Central Gujarat, the theatre of post-Godhra violence.
The Congress conceded defeat when its spokesperson Abhishek Singvi congratulated Modi for a "remarkable and great" victory. "I don't grudge him the victory."
