The BJP on Monday looked set to retain power in Gujarat, leaving the main rival Congress behind in the bitterly-fought elections to the 182-member assembly.
The BJP, which has been in power in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state uninterruptedly since 1998, last time had won 115 seats while the Congress had 61.
To form a government in the state, a party or a coalition needs at least 92 seats in the 182-member assembly.
Chief minister Vijay Rupani retained the Rajkot West seat by defeating Congress' Indranil Rajyaguru by 54,300 votes.
Deputy chief minister Nitin Patel was also ahead of Congress candidate Jivabhai Patel in Mehsana.
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Among other prominent winners were BJP leader and fisheries minister Babubhai Bokhiriya, who defeated senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia in Porbandar.
BJP's Suresh Patel held the prestigious Maninagar seat, the former constituency of Modi, by defeating Congress candidate Shweta Brahmbhatt by 75,199 votes.
In Mahuva seat of Bhavnagar, BJP's Raghav Makwana defeated independent Kanu Kalsaria.
The BJP also won the Umbergaon seat in Valsad.
The Congress won Mahudha seat in Kheda district where its nominee Indrajitsinh Parmar defeated BJP's Bharatsinh Parmar by 13,601 votes.
Congress' Alpesh Thakor won in Radhanpur seat against Lavingji Thakor of BJP.
Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil is trailing against BJP's Virendrasinh Jadeja from Mandvi seat.
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State BJP chief Jitu Vaghani is leading over Dilipsinh Gohil of Congress in Bhavnagar West.
Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, who contested from Vadgam seat as an independent with Congress' support, won over BJP candidate Vijay Chakravarti.
The elections for the 182-seat assembly were held on December 9 and 14, after an acrimonious campaign, which was dominated by a face-off between Prime Minister Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
In the 2012 elections, the BJP had won 115 seats while the Congress emerged victorious in 61 seats.
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2 P.M: “In his opening innings, he scored zero,” says Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
1.53 P.M: “Undoubtedly, a major victory. The kind of work that party workers have done right from booth workers level till the PM’s level, everybody put their best foot forward and both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have recognised the good work going on in the name of development,” says BJP leader and Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
12.11 P.M: Independent candidate Jignesh Mevani wins Vadgam.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, earlier trailing, wins Mehsana.
11.30 A.M: Babubhai Bhimabhai Bokhiriya from the BJP wins Porbandar constituency by a margin of 17146 votes.
11.00 A.M: Independent candidate Jignesh Mevani leading by 10785 in Vadgam.
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10.58 A.M: BJP leader and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, earlier trailing behind Indranil Rajyaguru, wins from Rajkot West seat by a margin of 54,300 votes over his Congress rival.
However, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel is trailing from Mehsana against Congress candidate Jivabhai Patel by 3,000 votes.
10.35 A.M: BJP leading in 105 seats. Congress leading in 75 seats.
10.16 A.M: BJP leader and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was earlier trailing after the count of postal ballots, is now leading in over Congress' Indranil Rajyaguru in Rajkot West seat. However, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel is trailing from Mehsana against Congress candidate Jivabhai Patel by 3,000 votes.
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Congress' Alpesh Thakor is leading in Radhanpur seat against Lavingji Thakor of BJP.
Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil is trailing against BJP's Virendrasinh Jadeja from Mandvi seat.
State BJP chief Jitu Vaghani is leading over Dilipsinh Gohil of Congress in Bhavnagar West.
09.53 A.M: The BJP appears to be ahead, leading in 104 seats. Congress leading in 77 seats.
09.33 A.M: Close fight between Congress and BJP. BJP leading in 92 seats, Congress in 84.
09.23 A.M: Indranil Rajyaguru of Congress is leading over BJP leader and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Rajkot West after first round of counting. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel also trailing.
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Rajyaguru secured 1,258 votes while Rupani got 491 votes after the end of first round of counting, as per election officials at the counting centre.
09.12 A.M: The Congress is leading in Saurashtra, where the BJP had won 30 out of 48 seats in 2012.
09.00 A.M: Congress is inching closer to BJP, both leading in 79 seats.
08.46 A.M: Postal votes being counted, BJP leads in 70 seats, Congress 35, Others-1.
08.40 A.M: BJP is eyeing its sixth term in the state, leading in 60 seats. Congress still behind with 25, others get 1.
08.29 A.M: The BJP appears to be ahead, leading in 41 seats. The Congress is not far behind at 11. For the 182 seats up for grabs, a total of 1,828 candidates contested the elections which were held in two phases on December 9 and 14.
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08.00 A.M: Counting of votes begin at 37 centres across Gujarat's 33 districts, amidst tight security.
The voting was held following an acrimonious campaign where both the main political parties indulged in no-holds- barred attacks on each others.
The main contestants from the BJP are Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani (Rajkot West), Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel (Mehsana) and state BJP unit president Jitu Vaghani (Bhavnagar West).
The main contenders from the Congress are Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi), Arjun Modhvadia (Porbandar), Siddharth Patel (Dabhoi), and Paresh Dhanai (Amreli).
OBC leader Alpesh Thakor, who joined the Congress ahead of polls is fighting from Radhanpur seat, while Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani is contesting from Vadgam.
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An average 68.41 per cent polling was recorded in the polls.
The total voter turnout this time saw a dip of 2.91 per cent, as compared to the 2012 polls when 71.32 per cent polling was registered.
In the 2012 polls, the BJP had won 115 seats and the Congress 61 seats, while others and independents had bagged six seats.
(Inputs from PTI)
