The Gujarat elections is being viewed as a prestige battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of soon-to-be Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Of the 58 seats in Saurashtra and Kutch, the BJP had won 35 in the 2012 Gujarat elections and the Congress 20. In 2007 Gujarat elections, the tally of the BJP and the Congress in Saurashtra and Kutch stood at 43 and 14, respectively, while the NCP had bagged one seat. Subsequently, Rahul Gandhi had attacked the Modi government over the “four-tier” GST structure and sought rationalisation of the indirect tax rates. The second and final phase of Gujarat elections will be held on 14 December and the counting of votes will be taken up on 18 December.

Source: Mint December 06, 2017 16:18 UTC