Gandhinagar, Feb 18 (IANS): Congress Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil on Tuesday claimed that his party's performance has improved as compared to the 2018 local body elections in the state.

“Despite the challenges, the outcome cannot be viewed as disappointing. In 2018, the Congress had only 78 members in the Assembly. Today, we only have 12 members in the Assembly still we were able to secure 11 more seats in the local bodies whereas our performance in 2018 was in single digits,” he claimed.

In the recently held Junagadh Municipal Corporation elections, Congress managed to add 11 more seats to its tally of the 2018 polls when they had won 60 seats.

“This improvement has come despite the pressures, manipulation, and illegal activities orchestrated by the BJP in Gujarat,” he said.

The Congress chief also criticised the “ongoing attacks” on democracy, specifically condemning the BJP’s actions such as bulldozing threats and negative campaigns.

He said that these actions are an attempt to suppress opposition voices and undermine democratic principles in the state.

In the Gujarat local body elections held on February 16, the BJP registered wins across various regions

In the Junagadh Municipal Corporation elections, the BJP secured 48 seats, while the Congress won 11 seats.

In the 66 municipalities, the BJP won 1,315 seats while the Congress secured 252 seats, and independent candidates claimed 126 seats.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won 11 seats, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 13 seats, and other parties collectively took four seats.

In taluka panchayat elections, the BJP emerged victorious in 55 seats, the Congress secured 17 seats, and independent candidates won six seats.