12:45 (ist)

Urban centres give BJP head start in Gujarat

A clear head-start in urban Gujarat has provided enough cushion to the BJP to offset any attrition in the social base in rural areas in the last couple of elections, News18 reported.

The poll outcome of 2012 shows that the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi successfully neutralised challenges from his former mentor Keshubhai Patel by pulverising the Opposition in urban and semi-urban centres of the state. "With a strike rate of 92 percent, the party won 42 out of 46 seats in urban Gujarat. This included 15 of 16 seats in Surat, 15 of 17 in Ahmedabad city, three of Rajkot’s four seats, both city seats of Gandhinagar, all of Baroda’s five and both urban seats of Bhavnagar."

The Congress has a lot of catching up to do in the urban constituencies if it wants to take a serious aim at government formation as, in effect, BJP’s tally in Gujarat begins from 45.