News: Modi fails to weave magic beyond Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: The Modi magic had to face boundary lines in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The Hindutva poster boy and BJP’s star campaigner Narendra 

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Modi could get his party a near sweep in his home state, Gujarat, but failed in Maharashtra for which he was the in-charge. In Gujarat, the BJP is leading in 16 out of 26 seats, while in Maharashtra it could manage just about nine seats. 

Modi failed not just in the 48-seat strong Maharashtra, but also in other states like Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, the states where he campaigned extensively, holding close to 300 meeting over 40 days. The BJP and its allies have lagged the UPA alliance in most of these states. The party’s performance could deal a major dent to the saffron leader, who had put the Godhra ghosts behind and was touted as the party’s next prime ministerial candidate. 

The Gujarat chief minister always led his party to stunning victories in Gujarat, the latest being the 2007 Gujarat assembly election. The party’s defeat in Maharashtra could very well be Modi’s first personal setback since he became the chief minister in 2001. 

While in Rajasthan, the party is barely leading on 4 seats against 20 set to be bagged by the Congress, in Maharashtra, the BJP is leading in only 9 seats against Congress’s 16 seats. While in Tamil Nadu, the BJP could win just one seat, in Punjab it managed a lead in 6 seats as against none in Haryana. In UP, it fared comparatively better with 11 seats. 

Source: timesofindia