Around 700 candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been declared elected unopposed across Gujarat ahead of the 2026 local self-government elections, the party’s state President Jagdish Vishwakarma claimed in one of the campaign programmes.
The deadline for candidates to withdraw nominations ended on April 15, after which the BJP claimed it had already secured approximately 700 seats without contest.
The seats span different tiers of local governance, including municipalities, taluka panchayats and district panchayats.
The figure, if formally confirmed, would mark a significant early advantage for the party before polling.
Speaking at election meetings in Gariyadhar and Palitana in Bhavnagar district, Vishwakarma attributed the outcome to what he described as public trust and the party’s organisational strength.
He said opposition parties had either withdrawn from the fray or failed to field viable candidates against the BJP.
“Congress has neither vision nor mission; their only agenda is to mislead the people,” he said.
He further added, “BJP does politics of development while the opposition spreads only negativity, rumours and lies. The opposition only makes promises while the BJP delivers real development.”
In his address, Vishwakarma contrasted past and present conditions in the Saurashtra region.
He said that earlier, women had to travel three to four kilometres to fetch water and the electricity supply was irregular, particularly in the evenings.
“Today, under the BJP government, tap water has reached every household and regular electricity is being supplied,” he said.
He also criticised opposition legislators, alleging that they do not raise public issues in the Assembly and instead circulate misleading information on social media.
Attacking the Congress further, he said it lacked both direction and intent, and accused it of relying on “negativity, rumours and falsehoods”.
Drawing a contrast with what he described as the BJP’s internal democracy, he said that “even a small worker can become the party president” within the organisation.
Referring to a past statement by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that only a fraction of welfare funds reached beneficiaries, Vishwakarma said the system had since changed, with financial assistance now being transferred directly into bank accounts under the current Central government.
He highlighted several government initiatives, stating that more than one million homes in Gujarat have been equipped with solar panels, enabling households to benefit from free electricity.
He also referred to the Ayushman health scheme, under which beneficiaries receive up to Rs five lakh annually, with an additional Rs five lakh support provided by the state government in Gujarat.
Vishwakarma further cited schemes related to roads, water supply, drainage, farmer support, widow assistance, the Suryoday Yojana, Mudra loans and the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiative, as well as financial aid for students pursuing higher education under the state government.
Quoting the prime minister, he said: "The target of providing toilets to every household had been achieved, which he described as a measure ensuring dignity for women."
Calling for participation in the elections scheduled for April 26, Vishwakarma urged voters to support BJP candidates in large numbers.
“I call for massive voting in favour of the BJP and to ensure the victory of all BJP candidates,” he said.