BJP Sweeps Gujarat's Tribal Belt, a Long-Time Congress Stronghold

Congress had won 15 of the 27 tribal seats in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls, while the BJP had won just 8.

The Congress party appears to have lost its hold over the tribal belt of Gujarat, which has traditionally been the party’s stronghold, with the BJP winning 23 out of the 27 Adivasi seats. Gujarat has a substantial tribal population comprising 15 percent of the state and is spread across a dozen of its eastern districts.

The Congress had won 15 of the 27 tribal seats in the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP had won just eight and the Congress' then ally Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) had won two seats. But the trend seems to have reversed this time around.