Cong yanks Junagadh civic body out of BJP’s grasp, wins 26 seats

In yet another setback for chief minister Narendra Modi, the BJP on Tuesday was defeated by the Congress in the elections to the Junagadh Municipal Corporation (JMC). Of the 51 seats contested, the Congress won 26 seats and the BJP got 21, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was able to win three seats. The last remaining seat was bagged by an independent candidate. The elections were held on Sunday and counting took place on Tuesday.

The BJP had made the election a prestige issue. Senior state leaders of the party, including MLAs, MPs and ministers, had camped in Junagadh to ensure its victory in the civic body polls.

The party had even asked its former MP Bhavna Chikaliya, who was minister in the NDA government at the Centre, and former state minister ML Patel, to contest the elections. Though both leaders won from their respective wards, the party failed to secure a majority. Given the importance the BJP attached to the civic polls in Junagadh, the party had fielded five Muslim candidates in an effort to woo the Muslim community. But the strategy didn’t pay off. All the five Muslim candidates of the party were defeated in the election.

According to BJP sources, the main reasons behind the party’s debacle are heavy voting by Muslims against the BJP, the anti-incumbency factor and unhappiness among local party workers. Junagadh city was made into a municipal corporation in 2003 and, in the first elections to the civic body held in 2004, the BJP had got 35 seats while Congress could win only 15 seats.