The BJP retained power in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation on Tuesday, winning 38 of the 44 seats. The Congress gained seats, finishing with five, while one Independent candidate won. The Aam Aadmi Party got zero seats after the results of the October 11 elections were declared by the State Election Commission.

The ruling BJP retained power in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) on Tuesday as it swept the civic body elections, winning 38 of the 44 seats. The Congress won five of the seats, while one seat was won by a woman Independent candidate in the urban local body governing the state capital.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had one member in the last GMC body, drew a blank as all its 32 candidates lost in the elections.

Gujarat State Election Commission on Tuesday declared the results of the elections held on October 11.

A total of 130 candidates were in the fray, and both the Congress and BJP had fielded candidates on all 44 seats. Though the AAP had fielded candidates in 41 seats, four nominations got cancelled, whereas five candidates had withdrawn their forms.

Although the BJP has retained power in the GMC, its numbers have gone down by three seats from the previous elections. However, the Congress has improved its tally by three seats, sweeping all four seats in Ward No 6 and clinching one seat in Ward No. 7.

In the 2021 elections, the BJP got a landslide victory by winning 41 of the 44 seats. The Congress could win only two seats, and AAP opened its account with one seat.

However, subsequently, both Congress candidates had defected to the BJP, leaving only one AAP member - Tushar Parikh - to represent the Opposition in the GMC.

The AAP had repeated Parikh in the present elections from Ward No. 6.

The lone woman who won was Independent candidate Deepika Vaghela from Ward No. 2, securing 4,909 votes.

As per the roster, the post of Mayor of GMC is reserved for OBC communities this year.

Gandhinagar was conferred municipal corporation status in 2010, and the first elections were held a year later when the Congress won by winning 18 of the 33 seats. The BJP won 15 seats. However, Congress mayor Mahendrasinh Rana defected to the BJP in October 2012 along with two other members. The Congress lost its majority, and the BJP formed the board in the urban local body, and Rana was retained as mayor by the BJP.

The next GMC elections were held in April 2016 when there was a tie between the Congress and BJP, with each party winning 16 seats. The turning point came when Congress corporator Pravin Patel defected to the BJP, giving the saffron party a crucial edge and majority towards forming the board. Patel was declared mayor by the BJP.

The third elections to the civic body were held in April 2021.