Gujarat Elections: AAP Loses Prestige Battle As Star Candidates Isudan Gadhvi, Gopal Italia Lose Key Seats

Isudan Gadhvi, AAP's Chief Ministerial face, who was picked after the party conducted바카라 웹사이트a state-wide survey asking people to choose their own candidate, has lost to the BJP's Mulubhai Bera in the Ahir-dominated Khambhalia seat. Meanwhile,바카라 웹사이트AAP Gujarat president Gopal Italia also lost from the Katargam in the Surat district to BJP's Vinodbhai Amarshibhai Moradiya. The firebrand Patidar leader was one of the party's star candidates in the state.

Isudan Gadhvi Loses in Khambhalia

After taking an early lead in Khabhalia on Thursday, Isudan Gadhvi has lost to바카라 웹사이트BJP's바카라 웹사이트Ayar Mulubhai Hardasbhai Bera who Gadhvi, who contested from Khambhalia seat. Bera바카라 웹사이트polled 77305 votes,바카라 웹사이트10 per cent more바카라 웹사이트than the AAP leader바카라 웹사이트as per the Election Commission tally.바카라 웹사이트

With바카라 웹사이트58,467 votes, Gadhvi has beaten the Congress party라이브 바카라 sitting MLA from Khambhalia, Vikram Madam, who has polled 44526 votes.

Khambhalia emerged as one of the more high-profile seats in the Gujarat assembly elections after the AAP picked Isudan Gadhvi to this politically high-profile constituency in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.

Gadhvi, who has been a바카라 웹사이트popular television news anchor before his foray into formal elections,바카라 웹사이트chose to contest from Khambhalia where he was born and raised. But social equations of Ahir-dominated Khambhalia were not favourable to Gadhvi whose community is numerically not so significant.

The BJP had won the seat in 2007 and 2012 but lost to Congress in a bypoll in 2014. The Congress retained it in 2017.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트No non-Ahir candidate has won from the seat in the last few decades.

A win for Gadhvi would have established him as a strong leader within AAP in Gujarat.바카라 웹사이트

Gopal Italia Loses in Katargam

Meanwhile, Gopal Italia, who has been AAP's Gujarat chief since 2020, has lost the high-profile "Diamond Constituency" in바카라 웹사이트Katargam, where BJP's Vinod Moradiya has won.바카라 웹사이트Moradiya, who is the state urban development minister, was바카라 웹사이트leading with 43,874 votes whereas AAP's Italia is trailing and has secured 25,971 votes, as per early trends.바카라 웹사이트Congress' Kalpesh Variya had바카라 웹사이트secured 7,631 votes at the time of writing.

Following AAP's aggressive campaign in the run-up to the elections, the electoral performance of both Gadhvi and Italia was바카라 웹사이트being closely watched.바카라 웹사이트

While Italia had claimed in an interview with 바카라 ahead of polling바카라 웹사이트that Gujarat was ready for "parivartan" (change), Gadhvi had predicted a comfortable win for the Arvind Kejriwal-led party바카라 웹사이트in more than 100 of 182 seats in the state. However, early trends indicate that AAP is leading in less than ten seats.바카라 웹사이트

A prestige battle바카라 웹사이트

Following the announcement of exit polls which predicted a seventh consecutive victory for BJP, Gadhvi had said that it is바카라 웹사이트"difficult바카라 웹사이트to predict results through exit polls... (but) BJP won't form a government. We will win over 51 seats in phase 1 and over 52 in phase 2. Exit polls will be proved wrong... BJP is declining in the state".바카라 웹사이트

The BJP, however, had predicted victory in over 150 seats this time following a drop in its vote share in 2017 when the Patidar agitation led by leaders like Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakor is believed to have dealt a strong blow to the ruling party.바카라 웹사이트

In Surat, where AAP was relying on complicated caste math and discontentment against the BJP among the industrial working class, the party had fielded several former PAAS leaders from Surat district such as Italia, Alpesh Kathiriya and Dharmesh Malaviya among others. The party had also been pinning its hopes on discontentment바카라 웹사이트among voters, especially those working in the diamond and textile factories in바카라 웹사이트Katargam where바카라 웹사이트ruling MLA바카라 웹사이트Vinoo Moradiaya has been accused of addressing issues faced by the working class as well as turned a blind eye to complaints against illegal construction.바카라 웹사이트

According to Surat-based analyst and journalist Naresh Variya, Surat district politics is dominated by the Patidars, Prajapatis and Surashtrians. "AAP had바카라 웹사이트27 councillors in Surat.바카라 웹사이트Their performance poor performance in바카라 웹사이트Surat comes as a surprise to the many in the party as well as observers," Variya told 바카라. "It just confirms that voters in Gujarat are still voting on communal lines," Variya noted.

He also adds that the results reflect AAP's failure to reach the migrant populations from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh who live in Surat and Saurashtra regions. "In the ed, Modi magic worked," Variya notes. He adds that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's final round of campaigning in Surat region days ahead of the first phase of voting did the trick.

In his previous analyses for바카라 웹사이트바카라, Variya had noted that while the Patidars바카라 웹사이트formed the larger voter base, the Prajapatis who belong to the OBC community, also form an influential voter base. Traditionally, the Prajapatis have voted for BJP.바카라 웹사이트

Another factor that may have worked in favour of BJP was the fact that despite the AAP's overtures to the working class, be it through cash, job or electricity바카라 웹사이트guarantees, the rich industrial class was with the BJP.바카라 웹사이트

Surat Diamond Association secretary Ramji Madani had previously told 바카라 that while바카라 웹사이트working-class vote might swing toward AAP, the바카라 웹사이트affluent industrialists, manufacturers and diamond merchants were still with the BJP.바카라 웹사이트

AAP wins and losses but바카라 웹사이트Congress real loser

From key victories, AAP's Chaitar Vasava, a former Bhartiya Tribal Party leader and close aide of Mahesh Vasava,바카라 웹사이트has been leading in Dediapada. Ravi Tadvi, a social activist from Narmada district had told 바카라 prior to the first phase of polling that Dediapada was the only seat in the state that AAP was sure to win due to the popularity of Chaitar Vasava. The leader had been key in BTP President Mahesh Vasava's 2017 victory from the seat. This year, Mahesh Vasava decided to contest from Jhagadia, his father, and BTP founder Chhotu Vasava's seat. He later withdrew his candidacy from Jhagadia due to his father, even though Chhotu바카라 웹사이트Vasava, a seven-time MLA from Jhagadia, contested as an independent this time. Chhotu Vasava has lost the legacy seat to BJP candidate Ritesh Vasava.바카라 웹사이트

The gains made by AAP seem to have eaten into the Congress vote share.

As of 4 pm at the time of writing, BJP was winning/leading in 157 seats. Meanwhile, Congress was leading/winning in 16 seats while AAP was winning/leading in five. This is a massive reversal from 2017 when BJP had won with one of its lowest vote share since 2017 when Congress had won 77 seats.

In Congress bastions바카라 웹사이트like Mandvi, analysts claim that the entry of AAP may have left the Congress in shambles. Mandvi, which has been바카라 웹사이트a Congress stronghold, was won by the BJP'sI Narshinhbhai Halpati with a 39.3 percent vote margin while the Congress and AAP candidates polled 29.75 percent and 25.88 percent votes respectively.바카라 웹사이트

The BJP has made considerable gains in the 27 tribal seats across where the Congress was ruling in 15. As per early trends, BJP was leading in 21 seats on Thursday. Local tribal activist from Dang district바카라 웹사이트and former SUCI leader Laxman Bagul tells 바카라 that in tribal areas, the Van Kalyan Parishad led by affiliates of the RSS have been campaigning tirelessly for the BJP. In Dangs, BJP's Vijaybhai Rameshbhai Patel is winning with over 47 percent votes while INC and AAP has secured just over 32 percent and 15 percent votes each. Dangs too was a Congress stronghold.

While the Congress was hurt by senior leaders like Mohansinh Rathva, Ashvin Kotwal, Jitu Chaudhary, and Mangal Gavit바카라 웹사이트joining바카라 웹사이트the BJP in the last few years, the emergence of AAP in the tribal seats has considerably cut Congress votes.

(With inputs from PTI)