A Close Shave in Gujarat

The BJP's sender victory in Gujarat leaves it with a resurgent opposition and does nothing to eliminate its troubles ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections

- Uday Mahurkar

On December 12, two days before polling for the second phase of the Gujrat assembly election ended, BJP president Amit Shah was a picture of confidence. “It is impossible to defeat us in Gujarat,” he said, perched on a sofa in the party’s sprawling headquarters ‘Kamalam’ on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, “... that too with a leader like Modiji as our poll mascot.” Shah spoke of the party’s deep roots in the state and predicted a tally of over 130 seats. When the results rolled in on the morning of December 18, Shah’s prediction of a BJP victory came true, but only partly so. The Modi-Shah duo did blunt the opposition ranged against them to craft a sixth successive win, just one short of the CPI(M)’s record of seven successive wins in West Bengal, but the party just squeezed through. The party’s 99-seat tally was just seven more than required for a simple majority, and only 19 seats more than the 80 seats won by the Congress and allies.