BJP’s Best Score, Congress’s Record: Gujarat Elections In 10 Numbers

Gujarat will vote on December 1 and 5, with the counting of votes on December 8. The state, which usually witnesses a bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress, has seen the entry of AAP as the third force this time.
Here are 10 facts about Gujarat’s political history:
2: Chief Ministers who have completed a full term without losing the polls or being dismissed under President’s Rule. They are Madhavsinh Solanki (1980-85) and Narendra Modi, who served two full terms between 2002 and 2012.
127: BJP’s best seat tally so far, which the party secured in 2002 elections. The elections, conducted in the aftermath of the post-Godhra riots, saw Modi returning as the Chief Minister.
149: The record seat tally of the Congress in the 1985 Assembly elections. No party has been able to cross 130-seat mark since then.
188: Total number of days Dilip Parekh remained the Chief Minister of Gujarat – the shortest single-term Chief Minister. While Madhavsinh Solanki had shorter terms in 1976-1977 and 1989, he was a four-term Chief Minister.
1995: The year Bharatiya Janata Party came to power for the first time in Gujarat. The party won 121 seats and formed the government under veteran leader Keshubhai Patel.
4600+: Number of days PM Narendra Modi remained the Chief Minister of Gujarat – the longest-serving in the state’s history. PM Modi served as the Chief Minister between October 2001 and May 2014.
1975: The year when the first non-Congress government was voted to power. Babubhai J Patel of the Janata Morcha – a coalition of parties opposed to the Congress – became the Chief Minister. He remained in office till March 1976, when his government was toppled by the Congress.
9,500+: Number of days BJP has been in power in the state since 1995, except for a two-year period between 1996 and 1998. The Congress, which was the dominant ruling party until 1995, ruled Gujarat for less than 8,500 days.
10: The number of terms Mohansinh Rathwa has been an MLA. Rathwa is considered the senior-most Gujarat legislator, having won his first election in 1972. He kept winning till 2002, when he registered his only electoral defeat. He returned to the assembly in 2007 and represents Chhota Udaipur in the outgoing assembly.
16: Highest number of Independents elected to the Gujarat assembly – in 1975 and 1995 elections. In both the elections, Congress lost power.

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