<p>The BJP's bastion of Gujarat remained so on Thursday as the results of the poll were announced and the party won the state with a historic mandate.</p>.<p>On the other hand, the Congress, which had pinned its hopes on an anti-incumbency wave and a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/bjp-cruises-to-wins-in-morbi-and-godhra-despite-bridge-collapse-tragedy-bilkis-bano-verdict-1169883.html" target="_blank">slew of allegations</a> against the BJP over the Morbi bridge collapse and the remission to the Bilkis Bano convicts, was instead left fuming as the party saw its worst-ever performance in nearly 40 years.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/bjps-strategy-to-change-cms-pays-off-in-gujarat-experiment-missed-in-himachal-1169884.html" target="_blank">BJP's strategy to change CMs pays off in Gujarat, experiment missed in Himachal</a></strong></p>.<p>The grand old party had last formed a government in the state in 1985 with a massive 149-seat mandate. Since then, the party has been on a downward spiral in the state, especially after 1995 as the BJP has held a unassailable stranglehold on the western state since then.</p>.<p>And while the party did show some signs of recovery, especially after the 2007 elections, rising to as much as 77 seats in 2017 and presenting a legitimate threat to the BJP, the 2022 elections proved to be the party's worst performance ever, as it won a paltry 17 seats, amount to less than 10 per cent of the 179 seats it contested.</p>
<p>The BJP's bastion of Gujarat remained so on Thursday as the results of the poll were announced and the party won the state with a historic mandate.</p>.<p>On the other hand, the Congress, which had pinned its hopes on an anti-incumbency wave and a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/bjp-cruises-to-wins-in-morbi-and-godhra-despite-bridge-collapse-tragedy-bilkis-bano-verdict-1169883.html" target="_blank">slew of allegations</a> against the BJP over the Morbi bridge collapse and the remission to the Bilkis Bano convicts, was instead left fuming as the party saw its worst-ever performance in nearly 40 years.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/bjps-strategy-to-change-cms-pays-off-in-gujarat-experiment-missed-in-himachal-1169884.html" target="_blank">BJP's strategy to change CMs pays off in Gujarat, experiment missed in Himachal</a></strong></p>.<p>The grand old party had last formed a government in the state in 1985 with a massive 149-seat mandate. Since then, the party has been on a downward spiral in the state, especially after 1995 as the BJP has held a unassailable stranglehold on the western state since then.</p>.<p>And while the party did show some signs of recovery, especially after the 2007 elections, rising to as much as 77 seats in 2017 and presenting a legitimate threat to the BJP, the 2022 elections proved to be the party's worst performance ever, as it won a paltry 17 seats, amount to less than 10 per cent of the 179 seats it contested.</p>