BJP holds ground in VMC, Cong tally falls to 6

Vadodara: The BJP retained its tally of 69 seats in the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) while the Congress saw its tally shrink to six seats, despite making some inroads in new wards.The BJP's victory with a comfortable majority was widely anticipated. The Congress had hoped to improve its performance after BJP rebels joined the party ahead of the polls. Even before voting began, the BJP secured two seats uncontested after Congress candidates withdrew their nominations.The saffron party's dominance was evident as entire BJP panels of four candidates swept 15 wards. Though the BJP lost two seats in Ward 14 and one in Ward 15 compared to the previous election, the losses were offset by gains in Ward 1 (two seats) and Ward 13 (one seat) from the Congress.Ward 1, long considered a Congress stronghold where the party had swept all seats in the last two elections, witnessed a reversal this time. The Congress managed to win just one seat, while the BJP secured two and Congress rebel Harish Patel won the fourth as an independent. Patel became the first independent candidate elected to the VMC since 2008, when two independents were elected from Chhani after its inclusion in the civic body through byelections after the 2005 general elections.Among the prominent winners was veteran Congress councillor Chandrakant Shrivastava, who won his ninth consecutive election from Ward 16. Deepa Joshi, the daughter of Waghodiya strongman and former BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastava, won from Ward 14. Madhu and Chandrakant are cousins. Madhu's other daughter, Neelam, lost from Ward 15.Joshi dedicates victory to Harni boat capsize victimsAshish Joshi, the Congress candidate from Ward 15, dedicated his victory to the victims of the Harni boat capsize, which claimed the lives of 12 students and two teachers on Jan 18, 2024. Joshi had won the seat on a BJP ticket in 2021 but joined the Congress ahead of the civic polls.He had been actively raising the issue of justice and compensation for the victims and frequently spoke about it during VMC general board meetings, along with other civic concerns. Joshi had also drawn attention during an incident in which two women from the audience stood up to make representations to the chief minister during a public address. The episode led to criticism from within the BJP, and Joshi was eventually suspended from the party for allegedly tarnishing its image.