Ahmedabad: Bolstered by overwhelming support from urban voters, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured nearly 60% of all votes cast in the Gujarat municipal corporation elections. The saffron party dominated the state's urban landscape, winning 59.36% of the vote share.
Vote Share Breakdown
The Congress finished second with 26.46% of the vote share in municipal corporations, less than half of the BJP's tally. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which performed relatively better in rural areas, secured 10.27% of the votes in big cities.
Across all local bodies, the BJP's average vote share stood at a robust 53.78%. While its dominance in municipal corporations was evident with nearly 60% of the votes, in rural segments like taluka and district panchayats, the BJP's vote share ranged between 51% and 52.5%. The Congress's overall vote share was 30.93%, while AAP polled 10.08% of all votes in the local body elections.
BJP's Best Performance
The municipal corporation results, announced on Tuesday, marked the BJP's best performance across all tiers of local government, cementing its continued strength in major urban centers. Observers view the outcome as an endorsement of the party's decision to create nine new municipal corporations, further strengthening its urban support base.
The BJP swept all newly formed municipal corporations and added 31 seats in older ones. Surat was a standout, where the party gained 23 additional seats.
Performance in Other Civic Bodies
Although slightly lower, the BJP maintained a decisive lead in vote share in municipalities, district panchayats, and taluka panchayats. The party secured 51% of the vote in taluka panchayat polls, far ahead of the Congress's 32.89% and AAP's 12.67%.
In the 34 district panchayats, the BJP's vote share was 52.37%, the Congress's 33.7%, and AAP's 12.4%. In municipalities, the saffron party got 52.51% of the votes, while the Congress came second with 30.68%. Interestingly, AAP fared worst in municipalities, securing only 4.89% of the votes.
The Congress's vote share remained relatively consistent across taluka panchayats, district panchayats, and municipalities, ranging from about 30% to 33.7%, but it lagged sharply behind the BJP in municipal corporations. AAP maintained around 12% in most categories, but its weak municipality performance highlighted uneven support across regions.
AAP's Rural Resurgence
AAP's resurgence was most evident in rural areas during the 2026 elections. In the taluka panchayat polls, AAP polled 17.18 lakh more votes than it did in 2021. Of the total 21.48 lakh votes AAP secured across 260 taluka panchayats, 1.18 lakh came from Narmada district alone, which has six taluka panchayats. Its vote share in taluka panchayats surged from 2.61% in 2021 to 12.67% in 2026.
In the district panchayat polls, AAP secured 17.1 lakh votes, averaging 62,645 per district. In Narmada district panchayat, which the party won, it polled 1.29 lakh votes, double the average. Political observers note that in rural Gujarat, AAP has staked its claim as the third political front.
Reactions from Parties
State BJP spokesperson Prashant Vala termed the election result a vote for pro-incumbency. "Even after being in power for two decades or more in local bodies, our voter share and seats have increased. It is a resounding endorsement of voter trust and faith in our national leadership," he said.
Manish Doshi, state Congress media convener, said that despite a "nexus" between BJP and AAP, the Congress increased its seat tally across the board. "The BJP strategy was to divide anti-BJP votes and has succeeded to an extent, but the party is buoyed and in a fighting spirit for the 2027 election," he said.
AAP leader Gopal Italia termed his party's performance "historic." "From a mere 72 seats in all local bodies in 2021, the party has won one district panchayat and 13 taluka panchayats. This is a reflection that people of the state endorse our party's ideals," he said.
