NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday thanked the Gujarat voters for giving a decisive mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the local body polls held across the state.
The ruling BJP swept the polls in Gujarat by winning the Junagadh Municipal Corporation (JMC) as well as 60 municipalities out of 68 and all three taluka panchayats where voting was held on February 16.
Hailing the victory in the local elections, PM Modi said it was humbling how the people of Gujarat time and again reposed faith in the BJP.
“Gujarat’s bond with BJP is not only unbreakable but also getting stronger by the day! I thank the people of Gujarat for blessing the BJP with their support in the local body elections held across the state. This is yet another victory for politics of development. It is humbling how the people of Gujarat are time and again reposing their faith in us,” PM Modi wrote on X.
He also praised the BJP workers for their efforts on the ground.
“These special blessings give us even more energy to work in service of the people. I would like to appreciate every BJP Karyakarta for their efforts on the ground, which have contributed to this outstanding result,” PM Modi said.
This time, the BJP has managed to wrest at least 15 municipalities from the Congress in a state where the ruling party continued its electoral dominance with a sweep in the 2022 assembly polls. The saffron party won 25 of the 26 Lok Sabha seats last year.
The Congress won just one municipality, while the Samajwadi Party (SP), a regional outfit, did better by bagging two municipalities.
This was the maiden electoral contest for local bodies based on a 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in panchayats, municipalities and civic corporations announced by the Gujarat government in 2023, reported news agency PTI.