In Saurashtra and Kutch, Bapa party divides

Even as several candidates fielded by the Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) performed miserably and also lost their deposits, an analysis of the votes polled by some of their candidates in Saurashtra and Kutch region indicates that it was GPP that obstructed BJP from securing two-third majority or 121 seats in the state Assembly having 182 seats.

If the votes polled by GPP in six Assembly constituencies of Saurashtra and Kutch are added to that polled by BJP candidates, it would be more than the votes secured by the Congress candidates in these constituencies. A splinter group of the BJP with its president Keshubhai Patel as former BJP chief minister with strong RSS background, the GPP is considered to be having a common electoral support base with BJP.

Besides, the GPP also won two seats: Keshubhai from Visavdar and Nalibhai Kotadiya from Dhari.

A study of the polling figures in Rajkot East indicates that the division of the saffron votes in Rajkot East seat led to the defeat of BJP candidate Kashyap Shukla.

Congress candidate Indranil Rajguru won by a margin of 4,272 votes by securing 60,877 votes against 56,605 votes polled by Shukla. GPP nominee Pravin Ambalia secured 20,003 but it this vote was added to BJP, the total would have been enough to defeat the Congress by a margin of over 16,000 votes.

The same was the case in Wankaner assembly constituency. If the votes polled by the BJP (53,727) and the GPP (30,319) are taken together, the figure goes to 84,046 against 59,038 votes secured by Congress party's Mohammed Javed Peerzada who won the seat for the second. He had won the polls from this seat even in 2007.

Another seat in Saurashtra region where the GPP polled substantial vote is Manavadar, resulting into the defeat of the BJP candidate. Congress nominee Jawahar Chavda securing 72,879 votes would have met defeat had 10,985 votes polled by GPP's Dineshbhai Kacha were transferred to BJP's Ratibhai Sureja having got 68,477 votes.

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