Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Sutanu Guru
The last time Gujarat witnessed a similar three-cornered contest was in 1990. Image Source: IANS
According to the projections made by the exclusive C Voter opinion poll, the vote share of the Congress is expected to crash by 12.5% to 29.1% this time as compared to the 2017 assembly elections
Gujarat is set to witness a three-cornered contest first time in 30 years in the forthcoming assembly elections. This was revealed by an exclusive C Voter poll conducted for ABP News to gauge popular perception and voting intent of adult citizens in the state. Aam Aadmi Party has emerged as a formidable force in the state and is projected to gather a vote share of more than 20% in the forthcoming elections, according to the opinion poll. If the opinion poll findings are to be indication, Gujarat might wtiness a three-cornered contest like Uttar Pradesh during the last three decades before the popular support for the Bahujan Samajwadi Party collapsed in the 2022 Assembly elections.
The last time Gujarat witnessed a similar three-cornered contest was in 1990. In that election, the erstwhile Janata Dal had polled almost 30% of the vote share while the Congress vote share had slumped to 31%. An ascendant BJP had then polled about 27% of the vote share. A total of more than 22,000 respondents were contacted for the survey using random sampling techniques.
The popular sentiment in Gujarat that is leaning towards a three corned contest will inflict the maximum damage on the Congress party, just as it had done in 1990. According to the projections made by the exclusive C Voter opinion poll, the vote share of the Congress is expected to crash by 12.5% to 29.1% this time as compared to the 2017 assembly elections. In 2017, the Congress had given a close fight to the BJP in a bipolar contest by winning 77 seats. But the change from a bipolar to a three cornered contest would hurt the Congress as it is projected to win between 31 to 39 seats in the state. Gujarat will have a two phase election with voting scheduled for December 1 and 5. Results will be declared, along with that of Himachal Pradesh on December 8.
