Gujarat civic poll results: BJP takes lead in 44 of 75 municipalities, Congress ahead in 27

The counting of votes for municipal polls in Gujarat is underway with ruling BJP leading in 44 of the 75 municipalities for which elections were held on 17 February, said media reports. According to NDTV report, Congress is leading in 27 municipalities. Five years ago, it had won 11 municipalities. The BJP is ahead in 13 of the taluka panchayats_,_ added the report. BJP has so far won 1173 nagar palika seats while Congress has own just 617, according to The Financial Express. Elections were held for 75 municipalities, two district panchayats and 17 taluka panchayats. In the last elections, the BJP had won in 59 municipalities registering an 80% strike rate. [caption id=“attachment_4355959” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Among the 75 municipalities spread across 28 districts of the state, the total number of seats that went for polls were 2,116, while the total number of wards in these municipalities were 529. The total number of voters of these 75 municipalities are 19.76 lakh. In the recently-held Assembly elections, the BJP retained power by bagging 99 seats while opposition Congress won 77 seats. The BJP had performed well in urban and semi-urban areas while Congress was ahead in rural areas. With inputs from PTI