Gandhinagar: As the posts for the President of District Panchayats were reserved only for tribal women as per the roster, and BJP had no valid tribal member elected, the party had to make Congress party’s elected tribal women members as Presidents in two district panchayats.

The Congress managed to secure the president posts in the Anand and Morbi District Panchayats despite the BJP enjoying a clear majority in both local bodies.

In the 40-member Anand District Panchayat, the BJP won a commanding 33 seats. However, for lack of tribal elected member, the post of the President went to Congress. The Congress’ Gauriben Tadvi was elected unopposed as president for the first two-and-a-half-year term.

The BJP’s official candidate, Mayuriben Patel, reportedly had her nomination rejected after authorities found that the Scheduled Tribe certificate submitted from Maharashtra lacked valid supporting documents required under election rules. BJP leaders are also facing criticism over confusion related to the reservation roster and what party insiders described as negligence at the local level.

The BJP is expected to retain control through the vice president’s position and key committees due to its numerical majority.

A similar situation unfolded in Morbi District Panchayat, where the BJP secured 17 seats against Congress’ 7. However, the president’s post was reserved for a Scheduled Tribe woman under the rotational reservation system.

Congress member Geetaben Dubaria, elected from the Neknam seat, was the only eligible ST woman member and was consequently elected unopposed as president during the first general meeting held on Saturday as per the State Development Commissioner’s directive.

Since the BJP did not have a Scheduled Tribe woman member in the district panchayat, the party was compelled to concede the president’s post to the Congress despite holding a majority.

The BJP candidate, however, was elected unopposed as vice president in Morbi.

The twin developments in Anand and Morbi have sparked political discussion across Gujarat, with the Congress terming the victories as symbolic breakthroughs in BJP strongholds, while BJP leaders attributed the outcome to technical and reservation-related issues rather than a shift in voter support.