The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat on Wednesday convened a meeting of its State Election Committee to begin deliberations on appointing key office-bearers across local bodies following its recent electoral success. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of State President Jagdish Vishwakarma and attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi.
Party leaders said the deliberations would continue for nearly three days to finalise the heads of the elected wing. The exercise will determine the names of 15 municipal corporation mayors and 33 district panchayat presidents. A party functionary told IANS, "The meeting could continue for two to three days and would review the outcomes of the local body elections as part of a three-stage process."
The first stage involved consultations with local leaders and successful candidates, followed by discussions with district-level units and party observers in the second stage, during which inputs were gathered. In the final stage, these findings will be placed before the election committee for deliberation, after which decisions are expected to be announced in at least three days.
The meeting follows the state local body elections held on April 26, in which the BJP secured a comprehensive victory. The polls covered around 9,200 seats across 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, with more than 4.18 crore eligible voters.
Voter turnout was reported at about 55 per cent in municipal corporations and over 66 per cent in panchayat areas. Results showed the BJP retaining control of all 15 municipal corporations, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, while also performing strongly across rural local bodies.
The party won a majority of seats in district and taluka panchayats, consolidating its position across the state. The Congress party remained behind in most regions, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made limited gains in select pockets without significantly affecting the overall outcome.
Party sources said factors such as organisational experience, electoral performance and regional representation were being considered in selecting candidates for mayoral and district panchayat leadership posts. “All aspects are being taken into account before finalising the names,” a leader said.
The outcome of the three-day meeting is expected to determine the leadership of key civic institutions responsible for governance at the municipal and district levels across Gujarat.