What struck this reporter during the Gujarat election coverage was the deafening silence of the voters. The silence seems to have spoken through the landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and most importantly for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom his parent state has gifted a new record in the 182-seat Assembly. Thursday’s results have yet again proven that the BJP has improved on its deficiencies in the 2017 polls in which it was stuck at the 99 mark.

Modi’s charisma, BJP’s strategies and organisational output have worked better than the Opposition, mainly the Congress, which, despite being backed by good numbers in the House, lacked all that was needed to woo the voters. Its national leaders almost abandoned the elections, leaving the fight to some second-rung national leaders and local satraps. The effort was inadequate to counter the BJP’s micro-planning and execution. This is the Congress’s worst ever show in Gujarat that has helped the BJP return. It would be interesting to see whether the Congress gets the official position of Opposition leader in the Assembly.