The number expected was 150 for BJP. Now the latest tally may prompt PM Modi to resort to populist spending to boost support before he faces re-election in early 2019.
That risks widening India’s already bloated budget deficit and pressure the battered bond market.
The result could also embolden Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who tapped into discontent against PM Modi’s economic policies before as many as eight state elections over the next year.
“BJP will have to take some corrective measures in terms of the discontent on the ground.
These include the creation of jobs for the youth as well as better incomes for farmers and then look at the GST and demonetisation.
The BJP has held Gujarat for about two decades with PM Modi at the helm for more than 12 years. However, last year’s ban on high-value currency notes and this year’s chaotic rollout of the goods and services tax has hit traders and textile workers in Gujarat.
The Congress party, which had been written off earlier in the year, found its voice and attacked the administration as a “government for the rich.”
