NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD: On his 61st birthday, chief minister Narendra Modi couldn't have asked for a better gift. Not only did Modi lead the BJP to an impressive win in the bypoll at Kathlal, a traditional Congress bastion, but he claimed his development-oriented politics found many takers among Muslims as well. If Modi's claims are to be believed, the result also marks an end to political formula called KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim), scripted by former chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki.
Coming after the arrest of his close aide Amit Shah by CBI in connection with the Sohrabuddin encounter case, BJP both in Gujarat and in New Delhi seized upon the victory to describe it as a defeat of Congress-CBI concern.
The bypoll result, besides assuaging concerns about any dent in BJP's base because of CBI's allegation regarding the chief minister's close aide being part of an extortion syndicate, can energise the saffron ranks ahead of the coming civic polls in the state.
Dejected Congress circles blamed the defeat on Shankarsinh Vaghela, the Kshatriya leader. State leaders pointed out that Vaghela had insisted on and got his way in the selection of the candidate despite reservations of leaders like Dinsha Patel, Arjun Modhwadia, Shaktisinh Govil and Bharat Solanki.
Modi's victory sent a clear message to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and all those stopping him from campaigning in the assembly elections in the eastern state.
Vaghela won the Kapadvanj Lok Sabha seat in 2004 votes with a margin of 60.000 votes, Kathlal accounting for half of the margin.
Having lost the 2009 LS polls to a lightweight from BJP, Prabhatsinh Chauhan, an OBC, Vaghela's stakes were high in Kathlal. Many believed a win in the bypoll would have helped him stage a comeback. But with the defeat, the former CM may have reached a dead-end.
Modi claimed at a public meeting that 65% Muslim voters supported the BJP in this by-election. At a time when Nitish is trying to keep the Gujarat CM away fearing Muslim backlash in Bihar, Modi said the minority community sided with the "truth" by supporting the BJP in the month of Ramzan.
"Muslims have rejected the people who are out to defame Gujarat. The win is an indication that they too wanted peace and development," said Modi, who was dressed in a saffron kurta. "The trend will continue in corporation elections as well," he said.
There was a warning for the Congress too: "Gujarat's voters have rejected the Congress-CBI alliance," he said, referring to the recent arrest of Amit Shah.
BJP's Kanu Dabhi defeated Congress's Ghelabhai Zala by over 21,000 votes. With this win, BJP now has 122 MLAs in the 182-member assembly. Congress has 54 MLAs while others hold six seats.
"It is a slap on the face of Congress for trying all kinds of methods, including misuse of CBI, to gain politically in a state where they have been repeatedly rejected," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman said in New Delhi.
Read more: Birthday gift? Modi wins Congress bastion - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Birthday-gift-Modi-wins-Congress-bastion/articleshow/6575377.cms#ixzz0zqqPzgq5
Coming after the arrest of his close aide Amit Shah by CBI in connection with the Sohrabuddin encounter case, BJP both in Gujarat and in New Delhi seized upon the victory to describe it as a defeat of Congress-CBI concern.
The bypoll result, besides assuaging concerns about any dent in BJP's base because of CBI's allegation regarding the chief minister's close aide being part of an extortion syndicate, can energise the saffron ranks ahead of the coming civic polls in the state.
Dejected Congress circles blamed the defeat on Shankarsinh Vaghela, the Kshatriya leader. State leaders pointed out that Vaghela had insisted on and got his way in the selection of the candidate despite reservations of leaders like Dinsha Patel, Arjun Modhwadia, Shaktisinh Govil and Bharat Solanki.
Modi's victory sent a clear message to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and all those stopping him from campaigning in the assembly elections in the eastern state.
Vaghela won the Kapadvanj Lok Sabha seat in 2004 votes with a margin of 60.000 votes, Kathlal accounting for half of the margin.
Having lost the 2009 LS polls to a lightweight from BJP, Prabhatsinh Chauhan, an OBC, Vaghela's stakes were high in Kathlal. Many believed a win in the bypoll would have helped him stage a comeback. But with the defeat, the former CM may have reached a dead-end.
Modi claimed at a public meeting that 65% Muslim voters supported the BJP in this by-election. At a time when Nitish is trying to keep the Gujarat CM away fearing Muslim backlash in Bihar, Modi said the minority community sided with the "truth" by supporting the BJP in the month of Ramzan.
"Muslims have rejected the people who are out to defame Gujarat. The win is an indication that they too wanted peace and development," said Modi, who was dressed in a saffron kurta. "The trend will continue in corporation elections as well," he said.
There was a warning for the Congress too: "Gujarat's voters have rejected the Congress-CBI alliance," he said, referring to the recent arrest of Amit Shah.
BJP's Kanu Dabhi defeated Congress's Ghelabhai Zala by over 21,000 votes. With this win, BJP now has 122 MLAs in the 182-member assembly. Congress has 54 MLAs while others hold six seats.
"It is a slap on the face of Congress for trying all kinds of methods, including misuse of CBI, to gain politically in a state where they have been repeatedly rejected," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman said in New Delhi.
Read more: Birthday gift? Modi wins Congress bastion - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Birthday-gift-Modi-wins-Congress-bastion/articleshow/6575377.cms#ixzz0zqqPzgq5
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