GUJARAT POLLS

Update: Sunday, 11-50 am

BJP Wins Gujarat, Congress Concedes Defeat  

Zeenews

Ahmedabad: Going by the trends coming in, Narendra Modi seems to have done it again. The BJP is leading in over 100 seats while the main opposition party Congress is clearly lagging at around 60+ seats. Modi, clearly in a celebratory mood, has already sent out an SMS message asserting, “I was the CM, I will remain the CM. For me CM means Common Man.”

The BJP is also set to retain or gain slightly its 50% vote share; Congress may get around 42%. Unexpectedly, the BJP which had swept Central Gujarat, has lost ground there. Meanwhile, it has made surprising gains in Saurashtra and South Gujarat that is considered the bastion of Modi’s bete noire Keshubhai Patel. Clearly the Patels and Kolis have been won over by some last minute deft selection of Patel candidates by the Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, Narendra Modi is leading by a comfortable margin in his Maninagar constituency in Ahmedabad.

The Congress has in the meantime has conceded defeat. Clearly, the ‘Maut Ke Saudagar’ comment has backfired, as has the delay in effecting the tribal bill.

But the Congress will not admit it. Defending the Congress president’s remarks the party rejected the view that Sonia Gandhi`s "merchants of death" remark turned the tide in favour of Modi, saying the truth has to be told.

Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal said that fascists have won in the past and have sometimes repeated their success. The party added that BJP’s victory will not remove the blot from Modi. “However, we do not grudge Modi the victory,” Congress said.

The RSS that had not come out clearly in support of Narendra Modi seems to have done a volte face and said that they were helping the Chief Minister all along in the campaign. “It is not Modi’s victory alone. It is the victory of the BJP central leadership and the cadre base,” RSS said.

However, all said and done it is clear that the campaign and the success can be attributed to one man alone – Narendra Modi. Whether it has been his development policies or his hardline image, the man is certainly riding back to power.

The rebel candidates of the BJP, who had given Modi and the BJP sleepless nights, seem to be not doing well. The fear within the party that Keshubhai’s covert campaign would have affected Modi’s fortunes seems to have lost steam.

In the outgoing 182-member House, BJP and Congress had 127 seats and 51 respectively. The BJP may just retain very similar figures in the 2007 assembly as well, when final results come in later in the day. 
 

Gujarat Polls: Modi Leads; BJP, Cong in a Neck-and-neck Fight

Various agencies

Sunday, 11-00 am
 
Ahmedabad, Dec 23: The ruling BJP and Congress are in a neck-and-neck fight with early trends available for half the 182 seats at stake in the Gujarat Assembly polls. The ruling party was ahead in 50 seats even as the Congress breathed down its neck, taking early leads in 32. Others were ahead in six seats.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has established early lead over Congress' Dinsha Patel in the Maninagar constituency.

Earlier, counting began for the 182 Assembly seats which will determine the comeback of Narendra Modi. It will also put an end to the suspense to a fiercely-fought campaign that had the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress trade numerous charges against each other, including Sonia Gandhi’s infamous “merchant of death” quote.

The Election Commission has set up 37 counting stations throughout the state to count votes polled in hundreds of electronic voting machines. According to reports, around 8,000 officials are involved in the process, the end results of which could also alter the Congress-Left power balance, make or mar BJP's fortunes and decide when the next general elections will be held.

“Every table will have a Central Government officer as an observer. After completion of each round of counting, the observers will randomly select two EVMs and recheck the votes polled for the parties,” state electoral officer A H Manek said.

Prominent winners and losers 

• Gujarat Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala is leading in Rajkot over his Congress rival by 1,400 votes.
• In Dhoraji, Vitthal Radadiya was leading by over 1000 votes over his nearest BJP rival Shamji Khunt while in Jetpur BJP candidate Jasuben Korat is leading.
• Rajkot district has 11 seats and according to initial trends BJP is leading in five seats while Congress in two.
• Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi establishes early lead over Congress' Dinsha Patel in Maninagar constituency. After second round of counting, Modi has 8,762 votes while Dinsha bagged 8,411 votes.
• Ashok Bhatt trailing Health and Law Minister Ashok Bhatt trailing in Khadia constituency.
• Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi establishes early lead over Congress' Dinsha Patel in Maninagar constituency.
• Education Minister Anandiben Patel trailing Congress candidate in Patan.
• Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala leading in Rajkot-II.
• BJP candidates are leading in five constituencies of Patan, Gandhinagar, Waghara, Matar and Upleta while
• Congress candidates are leading in four constituencies of Kapadwanj, Dharampur, Petlad and Vijapur. NCP candidate leading in Sarsa.
• Congress candidate leading in Kapadwanj.
• BJP candidates leading in Upleta, Matar 

Gujarat police on alert after threat to Modi

IANS
 
Ahmedabad: Gujarat police has been put on high alert following a communication from the Centre of a threat to Chief Minister Narendra Modi's life from terror outfits, including a possible suicide attack.

Modi, who is accorded Z-plus security, is also protected by Gujarat Police\'s commando force.

The state police was alerted by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) last week about the possibility of attack on Modi, following which the security cover for the BJP leader was enhanced during the campaigning.

"Besides threat from the terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba, the state police have been alerted about a suicide bomb threat from a woman riot victim," a senior police official said.

"The woman had gone to Bangladesh and from there to another country to receive training. We have received an alert and necessary steps have been taken," he added.