If the BJP falls sizeably short of the 115 mark -- the seats it won in 2012 -- it will be hard to deny the party hasn't suffered a telling reverse.
Some leaders believe that the Mamata Banerjee-led party could tone down its shrillness in countering the saffron party whose win has given the BJP state leadership and cadres a strong footing to prepare ground for the next year's panchayat polls.
The party also promised reservation to minorities on basis of their population after the caste census.
When Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Gujarat to cast his vote in the urban body polls, learnt of the poor voter, instead of heading home he went to the Motera stadium, organised a control room, and was on the phone with practically everybody assigned duty on the ground: MPs, MLAs and BJP office-bearers. His single commandment was to check the voter list and phone or personally get people to the booths, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
The result in Gujarat was not as grand as the saffron party had expected as the party did not even cross its 2012 tally.
"(Someone said) I have promised that I will make a Shiv Sena worker chief minister but then he himself became CM," Shinde said, taking a jibe at Uddhav Thackeray.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi and the state government on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's appeal challenging the high court verdict that declined to put on hold his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.
On the other hand, Congress' vote share has risen to about 41.4 per cent this time
Chidambaram also stressed that there were lessons to be learnt by the Congress from the Gujarat loss, saying there is no such thing as a "silent" campaign in a hard-fought election.
Thursday was the day results from the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections and by-elections in Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh were out, so what were some of our leaders up to?
BJP candidate and minister Kunvarji Bavaliya defeated his nearest rival Congress nominee Avsar Nakiya by a margin of 19,979 votes, officials said.
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who did not campaign in assembly elections in the five states, was on Tuesday conspicuously silent even as the results were out.
'What are the compulsions of the Election Commission that it cannot see any violations by the prime minister'
The AAP bagged 20 seats in Punjab while losing all seats in Goa
In the five years in politics Priyanka Gandhi has undeniably emerged as a thorn in the BJP flesh, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. It is time that this thorn is twisted a wee bit more when the elections have become far more uncertain than what it was when the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.
If Kejriwal is arrested, it will take very little for Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to summon a meeting of the assembly, direct it to elect a new leader of the House, and, if it doesn't, dissolve it and impose President's Rule, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
Voting for the 75 municipalities was held on last Saturday and the results were declared on Monday.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
With the strategy working in its favour, the BJP could be encouraged to undertake similar steps in states, including Karnataka, where elections are due next year, to counter factors that might work against it.
The 50-issue NSE Nifty in range-bound movements settled higher by 59.15 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 10,252.10.
Religion matters. Aspirational India is still poor. India admires strong leaders. India values decency. Shreekant Sambrani highlights the reasons why the BJP pulled off improbable victories in the Hindi heartland.
Kanugolu had also made forays in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh following a directive from the party's central leadership but regional satraps Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath reportedly were not on the same page as the poll strategist.
It is Gujarat that is preventing Modi from becoming a pan-India leader. Gujarat wants Modi to be an all-India leader only on its term: As a strong votary of Hindutva. But that very position is a recipe for disaster on the national stage, feels Amberish K Diwanji.
Rohit Shetty gets so busy giving us a social message that he forgets to add a 'tadka' -- also called 'entertainment' -- to Cirkus, sighs Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Dominic Xavier wonders if the Congress will ever see happy days again.
On Sunday, Rupani, 64, fainted on stage while addressing a rally in Vadodara for the upcoming civic polls in the state, following which he was flown to Ahmedabad and admitted to the U N Mehta Hospital.
The party's research department is quietly collecting data, facts and figures to puncture the Modi government's claims on the note ban, the goods and services tax, and the economic growth.
By-elections for four Lok Sabha and five assembly seats in four states went off peacefully on Sunday. Results of these by-polls, which will be announced on June 5, will be keenly watched in the run-up to the 2014 general elections.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Mishra agreed to hear the plea after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, sought listing of the appeal on July 21 or July 24.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress over party president Mallikarjun Kharge's recent remark on Lord Ram and Lord Shiva, and accused the opposition party of trying to divide Hindus for its appeasement politics.
In Uttar Pradesh, believe it or not, the BJP will not be helped in the long run if the Congress collapses completely. The more regional parties are strengthened due to the decimation of the Congress, tougher will be the challenge facing both the grand old party and the BJP. Rediff.com's incomparable Sheela Bhatt continues her new election column where she reveals the ground realities in the Battle for India, as only she can. Don't miss it!
'People were very upset with the fake promises of the BJP in the 2012 assembly elections as well as general elections of 2014.' 'This vote is against the BJP, Narendra Modi and Anandiben Patel.' 'Modi is the prime minister but in his hometown the Congress is winning. We have has got positive votes.' As the Congress makes gains in the Gujarat civic elections, former state Congress president Arjun Modhwadia explains the reasons for the BJP' s poor show.
"Such are his core supporters that they will vote for him even if cooking oil sells for Rs 5,000 per litre under his leadership.' 'They don't think about inflation but Modi when they go out to vote.'
"BJP's victory in Gujarat assembly election is spectacular. We will win in Himachal Pradesh with a bigger margin," party in-charge for Himachal Satyapal Jain said.
'The wife will not only abuse her husband for giving her less money, but also abuse the government.' 'Look at the price of a cooking gas cylinder, it is Rs 1,200.'
Conveying New Year greetings to the people of Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the state will celebrate a bigger Diwali on December 20, the day when results of state assembly elections will be declared. The Gujarati New Year is celebrated the day after the festival of Diwali.
The Gujarat polls are drawing to an end with Tuesday being the final phase of campaigning before the state goes for polling in the second phase on December 14. Results for the 182-seat assembly will be announced on December 18. Ahead of the polling, here's everything you need to know about the candidates.
'Only time will tell how difficult it would be for the BJP when Mr Modi may not be in a position to actively run affairs of the party and be its biggest vote catcher.'
'Then the BJP could even split.'
The coming year will be one that will test sabka vishwas to the utmost, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
