Gujarat Election Results 2017: PM Modi conquers yet again; BJP now rules in 19 states

With victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a step closer to its dream of Congress-mukt Bharat, changing the political map of India further.
BJP's plan of contesting state elections with Modi as its face seems to have worked yet again, as the saffron party has won nine out of the 17 polls held after 2014.
The Gujarat results, in particular, has come as a booster for the ruling party, where it sensed that the Gujarati voter was disenchanted by the BJP and state leaders were not good enough to change that. But 'All's Well That Ends Well', the voters seems to have chosen to go with the flow and voted the party to power again. So, as per the population figures from the 2011 census, 67% of Indians now live in a state controlled by the BJP. That is two-thirds of the country, and a much larger figure than the 45% of India's population under Congress rule when it controlled 18 states back in 1993.

With wins in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls, the BJP now has governments in 19 states across the country.

Modi Magic
BJP was ruling five states - Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Nagaland - before the 2014 win in Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP came to power at the Centre with the largest mandate since 1984, when Rajiv Gandhi won a landslide victory. The saffron party won 282 seats, while its allies were left with just 54, taking the NDA's tally to 336.
Since then, Modi along with his master strategist Amit Shah, have managed to increase the party's footprint across the country.
Maha alliance
Fresh after the general elections, the BJP won 122 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly and formed the government following a post-poll alliance with old ally Shiv Sena.

North, Centre sweep
It was the second-best performer in Jammu and Kashmir, behind the Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party and managed to form an alliance
BJP came to power in Haryana after winning 47 seats in a 90-member assembly.
It secured a majority in Jharkhand assembly along with its allies

Mission Northeast
BJP ended a 15-year Congress rule in Assam in 2016
It lost in in West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, but made crucial inroads in Left bastions of West Bengal and Kerala
In 2016, BJP managed to win Arunachal Pradesh
Back in power
In 2017, BJP bagged Uttarakhand and gets a clear majority in Uttar Pradesh, after 26 years.
Smart moves
BJP won lesser seats than main rival Congress in Goa and Manipur, but smartly joined hands with regional parties and independents to form a government in both states
Once rival Nitish Kumar resigned from his post and broke his party's Mahagatbhadhan with Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress
In less than 24 hours, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the new Chief Minister with BJP support, also winning the the crucial trust vote in the Bihar State Assembly

Concerns remain
In 2018, eight states, including Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Mizoram, will head for polls.
In MP and Chhatisgarh, the BJP would face anti-incumbency
The fate of its most recent tie-up with North-East Democratic Alliance will remain something to watch out for.