No effect of Patidar stir on local polls : Gujarat Chief Minister

Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad

Gujarat Chief Minister Mrs. Anandiben Patel who had led the campaign for the ruling BJP during the November 22 and 29 two phased local polls in the backdrop of the reservation stir by a section of her own Patel or Patidar community today said that it was now obvious that there was no effect of this hyped agitation on the results of the polls.

Talking to reporters in Gandhinagar Mrs. Patel, who was looking much relieved after her party’s win in most of the urban bodies, said,’Had there been any effect of the Patidar reservation stir on the polls the BJP would not have won all the six municipal corporations and majority of the municipality seats. If one says that the results in district and taluka panchayats were owing to Patidar stir then why it has no effect on municipality and corporation polls where also a large number of the voters from the community live.’

She said that her party will introspect the mistakes and review the results in a week to do analysis of the equations of wins and losses in the rural areas. Thanking the voters for peaceful voting she said that not a single incident of violence was reported during the polls.

To a query she said that in the last Loksabha polls all the 26 seats were won by the BJP because people voted unitedly to make Naredra Modi prime minister. ‘There was no divide at that time it was not the party but only Narendrabhai for whom everyone voted unitedly,’ the chief minister said.

Later addressing a meeting in Ahmedabad she congratulated the voters for peaceful voting and making BJP victorious in all the six municipal corporations and 40 of the 56 municipalities. She admitted that the results for district and taluka panchayats were not up to mark.

‘We got very little time for the polls. Only six days for the municipal corporations and 13 days for the second phase. We accept the result with humility and assure that the development mantra of the government will continue across all areas irrespective of where we won and where we have lost. I also appeal to those of our candidate who have lost, to work for the development of their areas with the zeal of a winning candidate,’ she said.

Notably the BJP has also won the home municipality of jailed Patidar reservation stir Hardik Patel and also won various areas of Ahmedabad and Surat Municipal Corporation which were deemed the centers of the agitation.

– DeshGujarat