Gujarat - Daman and Diu Election 2019: BJP strongholds face tough fight from Congress – All you need to know

Updated Apr 05, 2019 | 17:48 IST | Saumya Trivedi

The BJP had made a clean sweep in all 26 seats in Gujarat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

gujarat lok sabha election 2019
Gujarat is considered to be a stronghold of the BJP  |  Photo Credit: PTI

Since the last two decades, Gujarat has been the stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the saffron party winning all the 26 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. The massive sweep on all seats by the BJP was attributed to the ‘Modi wave’ in the country, which installed Narendra Modi – who served as the CM of Gujarat for 12 and a half years, as the Prime Minister of India. 

However, the 2017 Assembly polls in Gujarat evidently showcased that the ‘wave’ had perhaps diminished, with the BJP’s tally in 182-seat Assembly getting restricted to less than 100. On the other hand, Congress posted its best ever performance in the state in the last two decades and was able to create a formidable presence of opposition in the state. 

2019 polls would be a battle between the BJP and the Congress, where the former would hope to repeat its performance of 2014 Lok Sabha election and the later would want to better its 2017 Assembly results. 

Meanwhile, Daman and Diu is the second smallest Union territory in the country and is represented by a single parliamentary constituency. The Lok Sabha seat of Daman and Diu has either been held by the BJP or the Congress.

Current scenario: 

As mentioned earlier, the BJP had made a clean sweep of all 26 seats in Gujarat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Incidentally, in 2009, the BJP had managed to win 15 seats while the Congress had posted a victory in 11 seats. 

In one of the major reshuffles, BJP chief Amit Shah would be contesting the Lok Sabha election from the seat of Gandhinagar. Notably, party veteran Lal Krishna Advani has represented Gandhinagar constituency since 1998. Significantly, Advani has not been given a ticket to fight the Lok Sabha elections this time. 

On the other hand, Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakor, important leaders from Patidar and Thakor community respectively, have also joined the Congress ahead of the elections.

In 2017 Assembly election in Gujarat, the ruling BJP won 99 out of the 182 seats, while the Congress won 77 seats and others won 6 seats.  

Meanwhile, the constituency of Daman and Diu came into existence in 1987, after the implementation of the  Goa, Daman and Diu Reorganisation Act, 1987. It is the only Lok Sabha constituency in the Union Territory in western India, which covers its entire region.

Since 1987, power has oscillated between the BJP and the Congress in the Union Territory in the Lok Sabha elections since 1987. Presently, the constituency is represented in Lok Sabha by Lalubhai Patel of the BJP, who had garnered 53.83% votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Lalubhai had also won the seat in 2009 as well. Congress' Ketan Patel, who had lost the polls in 2014, is the party's candidate again for the 2019 polls.  

Alliances:     

In a big blow to Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has refused to tie-up with the Congress for the Gujarat elections. The NCP has announced that it will fight all 26 seats in Gujarat on its own, despite being in alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, in Daman and Diu, the contest is essentially going to be between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. Power has usually oscillated between the saffron party and the Congress in this constituency. 

Issues:  

Farmer issues: One of the major issues that had to be tackled by Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani is the distress faced by the farmer community. As per reports, dairy farmers of Anand were upset with the government as they felt the ruling party had failed to give them appropriate prices for their products. 

Other issues faced by farmers in Gujarat include money, water and increasing rates of fertilizers.

Quota demand: Reservation for non-reserved category and castes is another important factor. BJP hopes to consolidate the votes of the Patidar community, which had launched a fierce battle in 2015 for reservation. However, with its prominent leader Hardik Patel joining Congress, analysts predict that the Patidar community could be a fractured vote bank. 

Gujarat – Daman and Diu Elections 2019 Date and Schedule

Polling for Gujarat Lok Sabha elections 2019 will take place on April 23. The polls will be held in a single phase. Similarly, the Lok Sabha election in Daman and Diu will take place on April 23. 

Counting of votes will take place on May 23. 

The number of voters in the state of Gujarat is approximately 4.47 crores. Total electors in Daman and Diu are about 111,827.

Gujarat-Daman and Diu Election Results 2014

In 2014, all 26 Lok Sabha seats went into the kitty of the Bharatiya Janata Party, wiping out the Congress from the Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, the BJP’s Lalubhai Patel won the 2014 Lok Sabha election from the parliamentary constituency of Daman and Diu. 

Gujarat- Daman and Diu Elections 2019 Opinion Poll

Daman & Diu is considered as one of the bastions of the ruling BJP. The party won the 2009 and 2014 elections from the seat. Analysts believe that BJP's candidate Lalubhai Patel, who won the last two elections, could emerge victorious this time around too.  

Meanwhile, according to the India TV-CNX survey, BJP is likely to make a clean sweep of all seats in Gujarat, following the surge in nationalist sentiments since after the Indian Air Force's Balakot strike in Pakistan.

However, as per the Political Edge survey, BJP's tally could drop to 16 from the current 26 in the upcoming elections. Congress was ahead in 10 seats, the survey suggested. 

Opinion polls also suggested that the BJP may have to face a tough fight from the Congress in seven seats: Amreli, Junagadh, Botad and Surendranagar in Saurashtra, Anand in central Gujarat and Banaskantha and Patan in north Gujarat.

The views expressed by the author are personal and do not in any way represent those of Times Network.

 

 

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