The Gujarat results, albeit short of expectations, did not deter the BJP from celebrating the victory that came after a tough fight with the Congress
The Gujarat results, albeit short of expectations, did not deter the BJP from celebrating the victory that came after a tough fight with the Congress.
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Party offices across the state were asked to start celebrations at 11 am
The party offices across the state were asked to start celebrations exactly at 11 am on Monday. The party was confident of winning, though trends showed it would not match the winning figure of 150 seats as projected by party president Amit Shah. Mumbai's state headquarters had put up huge hoardings to stamp the party's victory, almost 12 hours before the counting started.
Also read - Mumbai's Gujarati community: Narrow win for BJP a wake-up call for Narendra Modi government
According to sources, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was glued to the television in the early hours of yesterday, before attending the legislative sitting of the winter session on Monday. He didn't react to the trends.
Also read - BJP wins elections in Gujarat: PM Narendra Modi says the country is ready for reform
Introspect, wake up, PM tells Gujarat BJP cadre
As the results for the Gujarat Assembly elections began trickling in on Monday, BJP leaders in the state began preparing for the impending celebrations. But before any of those could happen, they reportedly received a text message at 3.33 pm from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The premier is said to have written to his partymen, "Don't just celebrate [the victory] today, but also introspect. It is time to wake up." In 2012, BJP had won 115 seats under Modi, but this year's polls, the party couldn't even cross the 100-seats mark. Insiders also say had Modi not campaigned before the second phase, BJP could have lost Gujarat.
Input by Rashmin Shah
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