Amit Shah taunts Rahul Gandhi after BJP wins 38 of 44 GMC seats
Synopsis
Home Minister Amit Shah didn't just celebrate a BJP win in Gandhinagar — he turned it into a political grenade aimed squarely at Rahul Gandhi. With the AAP losing deposits in all 32 seats it contested and the Congress failing to breach single-digit seat counts, Shah is using civic-body arithmetic to undermine the Opposition's narrative on electoral roll revision ahead of future contests in Gujarat.
Key Takeaways
BJP won 38 of 44 seats in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation election on 13 October 2026 .
BJP's vote share rose from 46.11% in 2021 to 56.46% in 2026, a gain of over 10 percentage points .
AAP contested 32 seats and lost its deposit in all 32 ; its vote share fell from 22.22% to 4.38% .
Congress improved from 2 seats to 5 and saw its vote share rise from 27.79% to 37.05% .
Home Minister Amit Shah challenged Rahul Gandhi on the SIR electoral roll controversy, asking whether BJP wins could be attributed to the revision exercise.
BJP also retained Thara (19/24 seats) and Okha (33/36 seats) municipalities.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, 13 October 2026 launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s decisive victory in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) election, in which the BJP secured 38 of 44 seats. Shah, who represents the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, used the result to challenge the Congress over its prolonged electoral drought in Gujarat and to rebut Gandhi's criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
BJP's Commanding Sweep in Gandhinagar
The BJP polled 3,08,672 votes, capturing 56.46 per cent of the vote share in 2026 — a sharp jump from 46.11 per cent in the 2021 election, according to detailed results from the State Election Commission. Shah said the BJP had increased its vote share by 10 percentage points since the previous election, describing the outcome as a direct reflection of Gujarat voters' continued trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP's seat tally dipped marginally from 41 in 2021 to 38 this time, while the Congress improved from two seats to five. An Independent candidate claimed the remaining seat. The election spanned 11 wards and 44 seats in the corporation, with counting conducted on Tuesday.
AAP's Electoral Collapse
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a near-total wipeout, contesting 32 seats but failing to retain its deposit in a single one. Its vote share collapsed from 22.22 per cent in 2021 to just 4.38 per cent in 2026, and the party lost the one seat it had won in the previous cycle. 'The AAP contested 32 seats and lost its deposit in all 32,' Shah said, using the rout to dismiss the party as a political force in Gujarat.
Shah's 'SIR' Jibe at Rahul Gandhi
Home Minister Shah directly targeted Rahul Gandhi's recent criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asking pointedly whether the BJP's strong performance could also be attributed to the roll-revision exercise. 'Is this the result of SIR?' Shah said, arguing that the BJP's popularity and Modi's appeal were too substantial to be explained away by administrative procedures. The remark was a pointed challenge to the Congress narrative that electoral gains by the ruling party are linked to voter roll manipulation.
Congress's 41-Year Drought in Gujarat
Shah pressed the Congress leadership to introspect, noting that the party had not won a state election in Gujarat for 41 years, with 1985 being the last time it did so. The Congress' vote share did rise from 27.79 per cent to 37.05 per cent in this election, offering the party some grounds for optimism, even as the BJP retained dominance. 'The results demonstrated that voters continued to back the BJP despite the negative politics by the Opposition,' Shah said.
BJP Also Retains Thara and Okha Municipalities
Beyond Gandhinagar, the BJP held its grip on two other civic bodies. In Thara, it won 19 of 24 seats, with the Congress taking the remaining five. In Okha, the BJP secured 33 of 36 seats, including four in which its candidates were elected unopposed; the Congress won the other three contested seats. The triple-municipality sweep reinforces the BJP's organisational dominance at the grassroots level in Gujarat ahead of any future state-level contest.
Point of View
Not just electoral boasting — it directly targets the Congress-AAP effort to frame the BJP's recent victories as products of voter roll manipulation rather than genuine popularity. The AAP's utter collapse in Gandhinagar, from 22% vote share to under 5%, is the real story beneath the BJP headlines: a party that entered Gujarat as a disruptor in 2021 has been reduced to statistical noise in 2026. For the Congress, the vote share improvement to 37% is a genuine but incomplete consolation — votes without seats do not change civic-body control. The deeper question is whether the Opposition can convert rising vote shares into seat gains before the next assembly cycle, or whether Gujarat's first-past-the-post dynamics will continue to amplify BJP dominance regardless of a narrowing popular margin.
NationPress
13 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the BJP's results in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation election 2026?
The BJP won 38 of 44 seats in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation election held on 13 October 2026, polling 3,08,672 votes and capturing 56.46 per cent of the vote share. This represents a rise of over 10 percentage points compared to 46.11 per cent in the 2021 election.
Why did Amit Shah question Rahul Gandhi over the SIR electoral rolls?
Amit Shah used the BJP's strong performance to rebut Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asking sarcastically whether the party's victory could also be attributed to the roll-revision exercise. The remark was aimed at undermining the Congress narrative that BJP electoral gains are linked to voter roll manipulation.
How did the AAP perform in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation election?
The AAP contested 32 of the 44 seats but failed to retain its electoral deposit in a single one, and won no seats. Its vote share collapsed from 22.22 per cent in 2021 to just 4.38 per cent in 2026.
Did the Congress improve its performance in the Gandhinagar GMC election?
Yes, the Congress improved from 2 seats in 2021 to 5 seats in 2026, and its vote share rose from 27.79 per cent to 37.05 per cent. However, it remains a distant second to the BJP, which retained control of the civic body.
Which other municipalities did the BJP win alongside Gandhinagar?
The BJP retained control of the Thara municipality, winning 19 of 24 seats, and the Okha municipality, winning 33 of 36 seats including four where its candidates were elected unopposed. The Congress won five seats in Thara and three in Okha.
