BJP will win most seats, break all records in Gujarat: Amit Shah

Ahmedabad, Nov 15: Union minister Amit Shah on Tuesday expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will 'break all records to form the government in Gujarat with a majority'.

Under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat's fortunes have improved, he claimed.

"The leadership of PM Modi and CM Patel is giving pace to development work. Gujarat's law and order situation has improved, and the state's economy has grown. PM Modi's development model for Dalits, tribals and OBC community of Gujarat is being followed by CM Patel," Shah was quoted by news agency ANI.

So far, opinion polls have predicted that the BJP is likely to have an upper hand in the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh where the saffron party is in power.

The Republic TV-P-MARQ opinion poll predicted that a two-third victory for saffron party in Gujarat where there are 182 seats (127-140 seats) with a vote share of 46.2 per cent, which is much above the 2017 poll result of 99.

The Congress is likely to win 37-45 seats. This would mean that the party would have vote share of 28.4 per cent. The AAP is likely to bag 9-21 seats with vote share of 20.6 per cent while others could get 0-2 seats.

The BJP is aiming to set a new record in terms of the number of seats won and the entry of the AAP has made it a triangular fight this time in the state which was traditionally known for its bipolar elections.

In the fiercely fought elections five years ago, the BJP had won 99 seats and its main rival Congress bagged 77 seats.

Currently, the BJP's strength in the 182-member Assembly is 111 after several MLAs from the Congress defected to it and it is unlikely that the saffron party will repeat all the incumbent MLAs.