'Excessive enthusiasm': BJP on Kejriwal's celebration over Gujarat bypoll win

New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) BJP leader Amit Malviya on Monday described as ‘excessive enthusiasm’ the celebrations launched by AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal after his party retained the Visavadar Assembly seat in Gujarat bypoll.

Malviya downplayed the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) self-praise over retaining the seat in the by-election and highlighting the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had a poor track-record there.

“Arvind Kejriwal’s celebrations after AAP retained the Visavadar Assembly seat are a case of excessive enthusiasm over nothing. The BJP has not won this seat in the last three elections,” wrote Malviya, incharge of BJP’s National Information and Technology Department, on X.

The BJP leader downplayed the AAP’s claims of winning a by-election in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state and shared details of the outcome of previous three elections in which BJP had scored a blank in the Visavadar seat.

Malviya wrote on X: “Here are the details of the parties that have won the seat in the past three Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections - 2022: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai Bhayani won the seat. 2017: Indian National Congress (INC) – Harshadkumar Madhavajibhai Ribadiya emerged victorious. 2012: Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) – The late former Chief Minister Keshubhai Savdasbhai Patel won from this seat. So, to recap: AAP in 2022, Congress in 2017, and GPP in 2012.”

In Gujarat, the BJP and the AAP split the honours, underscoring the ruling party’s entrenched dominance and the opposition’s capacity for disruption.

BJP’s Rajendrakumar Chavda secured a decisive victory in the Kadi (SC) constituency, defeating Congress’s Rameshbhai Chavda by a margin exceeding 38,000 votes.

This result reaffirms the BJP’s formidable organisational machinery in Gujarat, where it currently holds 161 of 182 Assembly seats.

However, AAP’s Gopal Italia reclaimed the Visavadar seat -- previously lost to the BJP following a defection -- by defeating Kirit Patel with a margin of over 17,000 votes.

Italia’s return to the Assembly not only restores AAP's legislative presence in the state but also signals the party’s continued relevance in Gujarat’s political discourse, particularly in Saurashtra where it had made modest inroads during the 2022 Assembly elections.

--IANS

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