The BJP retained control of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) after winning 38 of its 44 seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party failed to win a single seat in the civic polls whose results were declared on Tuesday. The outcome also kept the BJP in power in Gujarat’s Thara and Okha municipalities.
The Congress finished second in Gandhinagar with five seats, while an independent candidate won one seat. The results were declared by the State Election Commission after counting began at 9am. Elections were held across all 44 GMC seats in 11 wards, with 130 candidates contesting and around 2.59 lakh voters eligible to participate.
The BJP’s victory consolidates its control over the state capital’s civic administration. In the previous GMC election, held in October 2021, the BJP had won 41 seats, while the Congress secured two and the AAP won one. The AAP had received 21% of the vote in that election, according to Gujarat unit general secretary Manoj Sorathiya, but did not retain its representation this time.
Gandhinagar recorded a voter turnout of 59.25% in the latest election. The result gives the BJP a clear majority in the municipal corporation, while the Congress returns as the principal opposition group. The independent candidate’s victory accounts for the remaining seat.
In Thara municipality in Banaskantha district, the BJP won 19 of the 24 seats and the Congress secured the remaining five. In Okha municipality in Devbhumi Dwarka district, the BJP won 29 of the 32 seats for which polling was held, while the Congress won three. Four additional Okha seats had already been declared uncontested after only BJP candidates remained in the fray.
Turnout was highest in Thara at 81.18%, followed by Okha at 63.27% and Gandhinagar at 59.25%. The results mean the BJP has retained power in all three urban local bodies that went to polls on Sunday. The newly elected representatives will continue civic administration in the three municipalities under the mandates confirmed by the State Election Commission.
