Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad:

Claiming to have won more seats in the 74 municipalities, counting for which held today, ruling BJP today alleged that unable to digest its defeat Congress was spreading lies about the polls results.

Congress on the other hand claimed that it has won in 16 local bodies while in 8 its supported candidates have emerged victorious. It also said that in the last elections the party had won only 12 seats and owing to conspiracies of BJP it was in rule in only 6 of these at the time of election this time around.

BJP Gujarat president Jeetu Vaghani told newsmen at party’s state headquarter Srikamalam in Koba near Gandhinagar after the felicitation of several winning candidates and celebrating the victory with sweets and fire crackers that Congress was showing shameless attitude after the results. The state election commission has declared the results and it has got majority in only 16 municipalities but was making wrong claims of win in 24 . He challenged the Congress president to make public the list of 24 local bodies he claimed to have won.

He said that BJP has won with clear majority in 47 municipalities with 1212 seats which was higher than that of last time around. ‘We have emerged victorious for the third, fourth or fifth consecutive times in some of these. The people have supported the development policy of BJP under Narendrabhai Modi, Amitbhai Shah, Vijaybhai Rupani and Nitinbhai Patel. We have got wide support in the municipalities in rural areas. People have once again rejected the falsity and caste politics of Congress. BJP has got more seats than last time around. Of the 41 assembly segments won by congress in recent assembly polls in the rural areas, the opposition party has faced defeat in 30 of these in the local body polls. In the area of the leader of opposition Paresh Dhanai and other senior Congress leaders, the party has faced humiliating defeats. BJP has also snatched the single seat of ward number 4 of Rajkot municipal corporation from Congress in its by poll. Congress was taking resort to lies as it was unable to digest the defeat.

Congress president Solanki and LoP Dhanani in a statement said that Congress has effectively increased its victory tally by 18 municipalities this time around. ‘The party had won 12 of the municipalities in the last election but was reduced to 6 owing to the conspiracies of BJP. Now it has won in 16 at its own while in 8 its supported candidates have emerged victorious,’ the statement said.