Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s dominant showing in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the Okha and Thara municipalities reflected voters' confidence in the party's development agenda under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The results, announced following counting on Tuesday, gave the BJP a commanding majority across all three civic bodies.

Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation Results

The BJP secured 38 of 44 seats in the GMC, an election held on 11 October across 11 wards. The Indian National Congress (Congress) improved its tally to five seats, up from two in 2021, while an Independent candidate claimed the remaining seat. Notably, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had held one seat in the previous cycle, was shut out entirely, with its vote share collapsing from 22.22% in 2021 to 4.38% in 2026.

The BJP's own vote share in Gandhinagar rose sharply from 46.11% in 2021 to 56.64% in 2026, even as its seat count dipped marginally from 41 to 38. The Congress, meanwhile, recovered ground, growing its vote share from 27.79% to 37.05%.

Okha and Thara: BJP Retains Full Control

In Okha, the BJP won 33 of 36 seats, including four uncontested victories, with the Congress taking the remaining three contested seats. In Thara, the BJP secured 19 of 24 seats, with the Congress winning five. Both municipalities remain firmly under BJP control.

By-Elections and Scattered Opposition Wins

Beyond the three main bodies, the BJP also won by-elections to one seat each in the Kheralu, Bayad, and Chhota Udepur municipalities. However, the AAP secured one seat in the Devbhumi Dwarka district panchayat, and the Congress won one seat in the Paddhari taluka panchayat — signalling that opposition inroads, while modest, are not entirely absent.

What the BJP Said

Celebrations at the BJP's state headquarters in Gandhinagar included drums, firecrackers, sweets, and garba, with party workers raising slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'. Patel thanked voters and pledged to continue working toward 'a developed Gujarat and a developed India.'

State BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma said the results reflected support for PM Modi's leadership and linked the mandate to Modi completing 25 years in public service. 'The victory was not merely an occasion for celebration but also a greater responsibility to meet public expectations,' he said. Also present at the BJP's state headquarters were Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and state organisation general secretary Ratnakar.

Vishwakarma said the party would focus on making Gandhinagar 'cleaner, greener, better equipped and more modern' while expanding civic amenities.

What the Numbers Signal

This is the second consecutive civic cycle in which the BJP has dominated Gandhinagar's municipal body. The AAP's near-wipeout — from a meaningful challenger in 2021 to under 5% of the vote — reinforces a pattern visible across Gujarat since the party's ambitious expansion into the state in 2022. For the Congress, a jump to 37% vote share with only five seats points to a first-past-the-post dynamic that could keep its representation suppressed even as its popular support recovers. The next test for these civic mandates will be whether infrastructure and amenity delivery in Gandhinagar, Okha, and Thara improves measurably before the next cycle.