The 2017 Gujarat election saw a historic surge for the opposition
In short: While the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in Gujarat, the 2017 legislative election marked a significant shift. The Indian National Congress achieved its best result since the BJP first took power, securing the highest number of seats it had won in over three decades.
The 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly Election was held on December 9 and 14, with results announced on December 18. The election determined the 182 members of the state's assembly. Under India's parliamentary system, the government remains in power only by maintaining a majority of these seats. Because the state uses a first-past-the-post system, candidates win their respective constituencies by securing the most votes, regardless of whether they achieve an absolute majority.
The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to keep its simple majority despite a decrease in the total number of seats won. Conversely, the Indian National Congress (INC) saw a notable increase in both vote share and seat count compared to the 2012 election. This performance was the party's strongest since the 1985 election, when they had won 149 seats. The political landscape remains dominated by these two parties, with the BJP previously having appointed Anandiben Patel as chief minister before she was replaced by Vijay Rupani.
The election featured a massive scale of participation, involving 43.3 million registered voters and utilizing VVPAT-fitted electronic voting machines across 50,128 polling stations for the first time in the entire state. The BJP's platform focused on continuity—emphasizing farm income, industrial clusters, and women's empowerment—while warning against 'social polarization.' Key promises included establishing 252 government diagnostic laboratories, creating world-class universities, and developing new policies for semiconductor and telecommunications industries.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election
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