In what could be termed as people's thumbs up to demonetisation or what can be called Narendra Modi's surgical strike against black money, the BJP swept the by-elections to local bodies in Gujarat after shining in Maharashtra yesterday.

The by-elections to municipal and district panchayat seats were held on Sunday, and BJP today emerged as a clear winner.

The BJP won 107 seats out of the total 123 seats in 16 districts of Gujarat in which by-elections were held.

The Congress, on the other hand, won only 16 seats.

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ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ELECTION RESULTS Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people for reposing faith in the BJP in a series of tweets. Modi said, "Over the last few days, we have seen the results of various polls -- parliamentary, assembly and civic polls -- across India," and "These results suggest that people want all-round progress of the nation and will not tolerate corruption and misgovernance." In Gujarat, where by-elections to local bodies were held, the BJP won 107 seats out of 123. The party emerged the winner in two municipalities, one taluka panchayat along with winning in majority of seats of various other local bodies. This came as a big sigh to Modi as well as the BJP as these polls were the first elections to be held after the government announced the demonetisation scheme, and these polls were seen as a litmus test. These results also hold significance for the BJP as Gujarat, which witnessed protests by Dalits and Patels, will be holding elections next year. The results of the civic body elections in Maharashtra, which was announced yesterday, also saw BJP emerge as a winner. The BJP was up for big gains winning 851 of 3,705 seats across 147 municipal councils and 17 panchayats in Maharashtra. Their candidates also won in 52 councils where council chiefs were elected directly. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today termed the BJP's victory in the state as not just a wave but a tsunami. "The BJP government is one which thinks of the common man," Fadnavis said, adding that people have reposed their trust in the BJP-led regime. The BJP has also won by-polls in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

(With inputs from agencies)

