Cong, BJP claim victory in gram panchayat polls in Gujarat

Both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress claimed victory in the recently held panchayat elections whose results were announced on Tuesday.

Elections for more than 1700 gram panchayats in the state whose term had expired were held recently. The results of the elections were declared on Tuesday.

The BJP has claimed that because of the initiative of the chief minister, 434 gram panchayats had become Samaras panchayats. Of these, 67 would be headed by women sarpanchs, the party said.

The Congress, on the other hand, issued a list of the ‘relatives of BJP leaders’ who had lost to Congress-supported candidates. A statement issued by Congress leaders Shaktisinh Gohil and
Arjun Modhwadia alleged that rural development in Gujarat had stopped for last 17 years under BJP rule. People of rural areas have finally reacted to the indifference shown by
the ruling party towards them, the statement claimed.

In Amreli district, the Congress-supported panel has been elected in the village of BJP MLA Kalubhai Virani. BJP MP Natuji Thakor’s younger brother, Babuji Thokor, has been defeated in Vadavi gram panchayat of Kadi taluka. Gandhinagar district has clearly shifted to the Congress.

A total of 87 out of the 90 gram panchayats in the district for which elections were held had been won by Congress-supported candidates. Only three bodies have been won by BJP-backed contestants.