NARROWING THE GAP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress were locked in a nail-biting contest in at least 16 seats in Gujarat, where the victory margin was less than 2,000 votes or of just 200 votes in some.

As the BJP managed to form a government with 99 seats, eight more than a simple majority, margins of victory as well as defeat are crucial.

In Dholka and Fatepura, smaller parties like the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ate into the crucial votes, which some described as the snatching of near-certain victories from the Congress. Assembly seats to have seen a photofinish included Himatnagar, Porbandar, Vijapur, Deodar, Dangs, Mansa and Godhra. At many places, independent candidates, primarily rebels, cut votes of either of the two main parties.

In tribal-dominated Dangs, the Congress managed a slender margin of 768 over the nearest rival BJP. In Kaprada, another ST seat, the Congress sneaked victory by a mere 170 votes.

There were at least eight seats, where Congress candidates trailed their nearest rivals by less than 2,000 votes, including in Godhra where the BJP’s C K Raulji won by 258 votes.

The BJP had its share of narrow misses as well. Apart from the Kaprada constituency, the party lost the Mansa seat by 524 votes and the Deodar seat by 972 votes.