BJP adds to Gujarat tally, key Congress candidates lose (Second Lead)
May 16th, 2009 - 6:48 pm ICT by IANS
Gandhinagar, May 16 (IANS) Gujarat’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to improve its Lok Sabha tally from the state Saturday as the Congress suffered a setback in key constituencies.
The BJP won 15 seats and the Congress 10 out the 26 seats in the state while counting in Kheda was temporarily stopped in the afternoon after a technical snag.
In the 2004 elections, the ruling party had won 14 seats to the Congress’ 12.
The biggest loss for the Congress was the defeat of central minister Shankarsinh Vaghela who lost the Panchmahals seat to BJP’s Prabhatsinh Chauhan by a margin of 2,090 votes.
Congress candidate Satyajit Gaekwad of the former royal family of Vadodara lost the Vadodara seat to Balakrishna Shukla of BJP by over 100,000 votes.
The BJP’s prime ministerial aspirant L.K. Advani won the Gandhinagar seat for the fifth consecutive time, defeating Suresh Patel of the Congress by a margin of over 100,000 votes.
The high-profile constituency had witnessed a battle among Advani, Patel, a sitting legislator from Kalol, and noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who emerged as a key campaigner for the BJP, was given a free hand in selecting candidates and the ticket was given to a number of Congress rebels.
None of the independent candidates or those of the MahaGuarat Janata Party (MJP) - formed by a splinter group of BJP rebels - won.
- BJP improves Gujarat tally, key Congress candidates lose (Third Lead) - May 16, 2009
- Shankarsinh Vaghela loses in Panchmahals - May 16, 2009
- Advani faces little resistance in Gandhinagar - Apr 29, 2009
- BJP ahead in Gujarat with 15 seats (Lead) - May 16, 2009
- Congress's Gandhinagar win a dent in Modi's invincibility? (Gujarat Newsletter) - Apr 22, 2011
- Congress wins two bypolls, BJP drubbed in Karnataka (Roundup) - Dec 04, 2011
- BJP sweeps local bodies polls in Gujarat - Oct 23, 2010
- After much thought, Congress picks Suresh Patel to take on Advani - Apr 03, 2009
- Advani wins Gandhinagar by over 100,000 votes - May 16, 2009
- PM, Sonia fail to garner votes for Goa Congress - Mar 07, 2012
- Congress to field Suresh Patel against Advani - Mar 31, 2009
- On Delhi's edge, BSP holds sway (Lead) - Mar 06, 2012
- It is Modi versus the rest in Gujarat (Poll Curtainraiser - Gujarat) - Apr 29, 2009
- SP sends maximum women candidates to UP assembly - Mar 07, 2012
- BJP sweeps six key civic bodies in Gujarat (Second Lead) - Oct 12, 2010
Tags: 2004 elections, aspirant, campaigner, chief minister, congress candidate, congress candidates, congress rebels, fifth consecutive time, gujarat, independent candidates, key congress, l k advani, Lok Sabha, royal family, ruling party, shukla, splinter group, suresh patel, technical snag, vaghela
