In 1998, BJP got 19 of the 26 seats while in 1999 it won 20. Post-Godhra and the Gujarat riots of 2002, BJP’s performance was reduced to 14 seats in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls while the Congress won 12. There was not much improvement in 2009 post-delimitation, when BJP won 15 seats, even though Modi continued to get re-elected in the Assembly elections. BJP won a closely fought assembly polls by a whisker.BJP continues to maintain a strong hold on Gujarat’s urban constituencies. The Patidars, who were strong BJP supporters here before the protests, may be splitting their votes.

Source: Economic Times April 22, 2019 03:00 UTC