India's BJP retains power in PM Modi's home state

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, is set to form government for a seventh consecutive term in the western state of Gujarat after scoring a resounding victory in an election held over two rounds this month.

Analysts see the victory as a significant boost for the ruling party and an indication of its sustained popularity ahead of a national election due in 2024.

The BJP has been in power in Gujarat since 1995, with the results — unveiled on Thursday — representing its biggest win yet in the state.

According to India's Election Commission, the BJP won 156 of the 182 seats in the Gujarat legislature, securing 80 percent of the chamber.

The main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, once India's dominant political force, won just 17 seats while a new group, the Aam Aadmi Party, or AAP, which governs Delhi and Punjab, took five seats.

"I am overcome with a lot of emotions seeing the phenomenal election results. People blessed politics of development and at the same time expressed a desire that they want this momentum to continue at a greater pace. I bow to Gujarat's people power," Modi tweeted after the result was announced.

The BJP was aided by a divided opposition, said Amit Rajendra Dholakia, a professor of political science at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in Gujarat.

The result is an endorsement of the strong leadership of Modi, with voters expressing satisfaction with the local and federal governments, Dholakia said.

Dholakia said the caste factor was shown to be no longer a decisive factor in Gujarat elections. The BJP has won in areas where the Congress had dominated for years due to caste dynamics, Dholakia said.

Amit Shah, the federal home minister who is also from Gujarat and is considered the most influential leader in the state after Modi, had also organized rallies during the election campaign, analysts said.

Credit needs to be given to the robust electoral machinery of the BJP on the ground, said Anupama Roy, a professor at the Centre for Political Science at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Another important reason was the fragmentation of opposition votes, especially with the entry of AAP into the fray, said Roy.

Modi is extremely popular in his home state, where he was chief minister for 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014.

Even major national concerns like inflation, rising fuel prices and the government's shortcomings during the pandemic have had little impact on the overall support for Modi in his home state, said Anil Desai, a diamond trader from Surat, a business center in Gujarat.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.