Sir — Exit polls conducted by various polling agencies predicted that the BJP would retain Gujarat with a reduced margin of seats in the 182-member Assembly, though one of them predicted a sweep. The Congress’ tally was predicted to go up by a few seats. If projections are correct, it will mean that the BJP’s campaign, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triumphed over the Congress’ yet again in Gujarat.
Nevertheless, people will finally breathe a definite sigh of relief that at last, the absurdly long campaign for the Gujarat Assembly has come to an end. Sober and serious observers are still at loss to explain the Prime Minister’s excessive preoccupation and involvement with the campaigning in Gujarat.
Apart from the implications for the Prime Minister’s prestige, the campaign assumed its own importance for Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Whatever be the outcome, this electoral round seems to have administered a much-needed dose of reality into the Congress calculus.