Gujarat elections: 'Results indicate people not happy with BJP', says Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena on Monday said the people were not happy with the BJP in Gujarat, going by the trends of the assembly election counting. The BJP appeared to be on its way to retain power in the state, with trends from 182 seats giving it a lead in 103 while the Congress followed with 72.

The simple majority mark in the 182-member assembly is 92. BJP's Babubhai Bokhiriya won Porbandar assembly seat, defeating Congress' Arjun Modhvadia by a margin of 1,855 votes.

"We (the BJP) came to power in the country by citing the much-touted 'Gujarat model' (of development). If people in Gujarat are not happy (with the BJP) today, then understand their psyche, understand what people in the country feel," Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.

"The (BJP should) understand the mindset of people of Gujarat (and) the reason the people there are not happy," he said.

The Rajya Sabha member claimed that the Narendra Modi-led government had not registered success on a single issue, be it on security, Kashmir, Pakistan, note ban, unemployment or farmer suicides. "This is what I gather from the Gujarat election results," Raut said.

He said indications are that the BJP would form the government in Gujarat. "But going by the mandate, it is now clear that the mood in Gujarat today is the mood of the country, as it was Gujarat which showed the path of victory (to the BJP)," he said.

Raut's remarks came on a day the Sena, BJP's bickering ally, heaped praise on Rahul Gandhi, lauding the newly appointed Congress president for "fighting the Gujarat poll battle without bothering about the result".

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party said the 47-year-old Amethi MP has taken over the reins of the grand old party at a crucial stage. "Rahul Gandhi has accepted the responsibility as Congress president at a crucial stage. There should be no objection in wishing him all the best," said an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana.

The party said Gandhi threw himself into the campaign arena without worrying about the final poll outcome in Gujarat.

PTI