BJP invades Congress bastion in Gujarat

Ahmedabad : Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi?s 61st birthday on Friday turned out to be a day of double celebrations for the BJP state unit as the party wrestled the Kathlal assembly seat from the Congress in a by-poll for the first time in five decades.

Bharatiya Janata Party?s (BJP) Kanu Dabhi polled 62,120 votes against his nearest Congress rival Ghelabhai Zala?s 40,573 votes, winning the seat by a margin of over 21,000 votes.

This victory has taken the BJP?s tally in the state Assembly to 122 in a House of 182 members. The Congress has 54 legislators, while others hold six seats.

Expressing satisfaction at the win, Modi said the victory was a result of people?s endorsement of the developmental work done by the BJP.

?People have defeated every conspiracy of Congress and CBI,? he said, not missing the opportunity to hit out at his rivals.

The by-poll for Kathlal, situated in central Gujarat’s Kheda district, was nesseciated following the death of the sitting Congress MLA Gautam Zala.

The constituency is represented in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Dinsha Patel.

The adjacent Anand parliamentary constituency is represented by another Union Minister Bharat Solanki.

It is the maiden time that the BJP has won the Kathlal seat since the formation of the Assembly constituency in 1960.