Ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections next year, the BJP’s emphatic victory by winning 20 of 26 seats in the Chandigarh Municipal Polls assumes significance as it comes amid the perceived anti-incumbency factor at play against the ruling SAD-BJP Government in Punjab, the more so because the ruling combine has unseated the Congress, which reigned over the corporation for 14 long years.
But just as its victories in the Assembly and the lok Sabha by-elections and those in local body polls in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the BJP is projecting the Chandigarh win too as a big thumbs-up to the ongoing demonetisation drive.
Whether the demonetisation decision will impact the poll prospects of the BJP in the bigger test next year remains to be seen, but for now an ‘encouraged’ BJP feels the move has hit the right chord and the party needs to build upon its municipal gains to emulate its showing in the Assembly polls.
The consistent showing of the party in the polls does reflect the electorates’ sustained interest in the party. And BJP president Amit Shah did not miss out to point as much. “Post demonetisation, we have won by-elections in five States. We
have won the Maharashtra municipal council polls, Rajasthan polls, Gujarat elections. Now, the people have supported the BJP whole-heartedly in the Chandigarh polls,” said Shah, hailing the party’s decisive win in the Chandigarh municipal polls. The party chief suggested that had there been any fallout of the November 8 demonetisation decision, people would have not held back their verdict against the BJP for so long.
Shah maintained that people have approved of the BJP and the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation. “Every win after November 8 shows people approve note ban,” he claimed.
With scheduled Assembly polls in the State less than two months away, the Chandigarh win is a big morale booster for the central BJP leadership as the party has scored a sweeping victory despite 10 years of anti-incumbency against the coalition Government it leads along with the Shiromani Akali Dal. A resurgent Opposition, the AAP and the Congress, besides issues of corruption, drug menace and rising militant activities are its main worries.
The BJP won 20 of the total 26 seats. With SAD winning one, the combine won 21 seats in all with the Congress managing just four seats and an Independent candidate winning the remaining one seat. Prominent leaders of the Congress lost and this could be a major worry for the party which is eyeing a return to power in the State.
The Chandigarh win is the latest in the series of victories for the BJP post-demonetisation. In the by-elections on November 22, the BJP won the lakhimpur lok Sabha seat in Assam vacated by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Shahdol lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh (both States ruled by the party) and also picked up three of the nine Assembly constituencies spread over Assam, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (Union Territory).
In Gujarat, which will also go to polls next year, the party swept the local bodies polls. In Maharashtra too it came up trumps. In Gujarat, it won 107 seats out of total 123 seats which went for polls in different parts of the State. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had then hailed the victory as people’s endorsement of Modi’s two recent steps -- surgical strikes across the loC and demonetisation. The rival Congress could capture only 16 seats in the municipal polls.
The BJP followed up its success in the Maharashtra civic elections with a sweep of by-elections. The BJP made big gains in the civic elections winning 851 of 3,705 seats across 147 municipal councils and 17 panchayats.
In Rajasthan, BJP won 19 of the 37 panchayat and municipal seats while the Congress finished a close second with 14 seats. Independent candidates bagged the remaining four.