GANDHINAGAR: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had secured one seat in the previous Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections, failed to open its account this time.The Arvind Kejriwal-led party had secured 21% of the votes in the last civic election, according to its Gujarat unit general secretary Manoj Sorathiya.The BJP on Tuesday won 38 of the 44 seats in the GMC polls, retaining power in Gandhinagar and also in the Thara and Okha municipalities, according to results declared by the State Election Commission.The Congress finished second in Gandhinagar with five seats, while an independent candidate won one seat.The GMC last went to polls in October 2021, when the BJP won 41 of the 44 seats, while the Congress secured two seats and the AAP won one.In Thara municipality in Banaskantha district, the BJP won 19 of the 24 seats, while the Congress secured the remaining five.In Okha municipality in Devbhumi Dwarka district, the BJP won 29 of the 32 seats for which polling was held, while the Congress secured three seats.Four seats in Okha had been declared uncontested as only BJP candidates remained in the fray.The results mean the BJP retained power in all three urban local bodies that went to polls on Sunday.Counting of votes began at 9am on Tuesday for the three civic bodies.In Gandhinagar, elections were held for all 44 seats across 11 wards, with 130 candidates in the fray. The civic body has around 2.59 lakh voters.In Thara municipality, elections were held for 24 seats across six wards, while in Okha, polling took place for 32 seats across nine wards.Gandhinagar recorded a voter turnout of 59.25%, while Thara registered 81.18% and Okha 63.27%, according to figures released by the State Election Commission.
