Gujarat elections 2022: Hits and misses, gains and upsets

BJP’s Alpesh Thakor retained the firm seat of Gandhinagar south defeating Congress’s Himanshu Patel with 1,33,339 votes against Patel’s 90,017

Despite the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recording its best-ever performance and win in the Gujarat assembly elections, there were some major upsets for the BJP, and even for the opposition Congress.

BJP appears set to sweep Gujarat polls with highest seats ever in Gujarat Assembly elections (HT Photo/ Representative)

In Porbandar, the sitting BJP legislator Babubhai Bokhiria lost to his Congress rival Arjun Modhwadiya with a margin of nearly 10,000 votes. Congress’ Modhwadiya won with 81,395 votes over Bokhiria’s 73,388. Bokhiria was a cabinet minister in the Anandiben Patel government durig her tenure in 2014.

Another major upset for the ruling party came from the Vaghodia seat, where an independent candidate, a former BJP member Dharmendrasinh Vaghela, defeated two BJP candidates including former MLA Ashwin Patel and the sitting MLA Madhu Srivastav, who contested as an independent after he was denied ticket. While Vaghela received 77,667 votes, Patel 63,781 and Shrivtastav only 14,586.

Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) founder and national convener Chhotubhai Vasava lost to BJP candidate Ritesh Vasava who secured 89,552 votes against Vasava’s 66,185. Vasava had contested as an independent candidate.

In Amreli, Kaushik Vekariya of the BJP defeated sitting MLA and former leader of the opposition Paresh Dhanani by about 47,000 votes. Similarly, the current leader of the opposition Sukhram Rathwa lost to BJP’s Jayanti Rathwa.

In a major loss for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the party’s bigwigs including state president Gopal Italiya contesting from Katargam, Surat, Ishudan Gadhavi contesting from Khambhaliya, Alpesh Kathiria, contesting from Varacha, Surat, Sagar Rabaari contesting from Bechraji and Vashram Sagathiya contesting from Rajkot Rural, all lost to the BJP candidates.

Tushar Chaudhary, the Congress candidate from the Khedbrahma constituency toppled the Congress turncoat Ashwin Kotwal, who fought as the BJP candidate. Chaudhary received 66,770 votes against Kotwal’s 64,722. Another Congress turncoat Harshad Ribadiya, who contested from the Visavadar seat as a candidate for the BJP, lost to AAP’s Bhupendra Bhayani.

Another BJP sitting legislator Raman Patel, contesting from the Vijapur seat in north Gujarat, lost to Congress’s CJ Chavda, who beat him with a margin of nearly 7,000 votes. Chavda got 77,806 votes against Patel’s 70,954.

BJP’s Alpesh Thakor retained the firm seat of Gandhinagar south defeating Congress’s Himanshu Patel with 1,33,339 votes against Patel’s 90,017.

Meanwhile, in the Morbi assembly constituency, dominated by Patidars, where 135 people lost their lives due to a bridge collapse incident ahead of the state elections, BJP gained a heavy margin win against Congress.

BJP candidate Kantibhai Amrutiya, a five-time legislator, won with 1,13,701 votes over his Congress rival, Patel Jayantilal, the sitting MLA.