PM Modi-led landslide BJP win in Gujarat polls grabs global headlines

Global news outlets have widely reported on the landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat where Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a campaign to a record win on his home turf.

On Thursday, the ruling BJP recorded a historic win in Gujarat, winning 156 seats. The BJP’s 7th consecutive Assembly poll win in Gujarat is also its biggest since the founding of this state in 1960. The Straits Times of Singapore, the Nikkei Asia, Al Jazeera, Independent, ABC News were among the global publications which displayed photographs of jubilant celebrations of the BJP’s win in Gujarat.

British publication The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Modi had given a significant boost to his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a sign of the party’s enduring popularity before a general election due in 2024.

Noting how BJP has not lost a Gujarat assembly election since 1995, Japan’s Nikkei Asia attributed this win to PM Modi’s popularity in the state of Gujarat.

“Modi is wildly popular in the state, where he served as chief minister for nearly 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014,” the newspaper said.

The Japanese daily said Modi held a series of campaign rallies in the state, lending his star power to the BJP’s campaign. “Many residents take pride in the fact that the Gujarat-born Modi represents India at the global level, and feel a sense of responsibility to support him,” the newspaper added.

The UK-based The Independent said the record win in Gujarat is a big boost to the BJP ahead of the national elections in 2024.

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Ajay Gudavarthy told Al Jazeera that the BJP’s comfortable win in Gujarat shows a deeper consolidation of the Hindu vote.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Modi, on his personal Twitter account, thanked the people of Gujarat saying, they blessed the politics of development.

“Thank you Gujarat. I am overcome with a lot of emotions seeing the phenomenal election results. People blessed the politics of development and at the same time expressed a desire that they want this momentum to continue at a greater pace. I bow to Gujarat’s Jan Shakti,” PM Modi tweeted.

“To all hardworking @BJP4Gujarat Karyakartas I want to say – each of you is a champion! This historic win would never be possible without the exceptional hardwork of our Karyakartas, who are the real strength of our Party.