Mission 150: Can BJP beat the Congress record of 149 seats in Gujarat assembly polls?

In 1985, the Congress had bagged 149 seats in the Gujarat assembly elections. That record has not been beaten as yet.

Can the Bharatiya Janata Party reach the 150 mark in the Gujarat assembly elections 2017? This is the target that the BJP chief Amit Shah has set for the forthcoming elections in Gujarat slated to be held later this year. Riding high on the success of the UP elections, Shah has set the bar very high in his home state.

The BJP says that it is not just confident of a victory in Gujarat but will beat its own record. In 2012, the party had won 115 seats. In 2002 and 2007, the BJP won 127 and 117 seats respectively. However, in the 2017 polls, the BJP is aiming for a record 150 out 182 seats.

Shah sounded confident of a big win. He even said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory run will reach Gujarat in November. If the BJP wins 150 seats it would be a record. No party in the history of Gujarat has managed to win that number. The Congress had come close to that mark in 1985 when it bagged 149 seats in the 182 member house.

The BJP hopes to capitalise on its massive UP win and also will harp on the Modi development mantra. The poor showing of the Congress is also another factor that the BJP would be banking on to touch the 150 mark. The Congress in Gujarat has been on a decline since 1990 and has won between 51 and 60 seats in the previous three elections.

For Modi and Shah the Gujarat election will not just be crucial, but personal as well since it is their home state. Both the leaders rose to the national level after putting up stellar performances in consecutive assembly elections in Gujarat.

OneIndia News