Surat: The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) will now function without an official leader of opposition (LoP) after the election results were declared, recreating a scenario last seen in 1995 when the BJP had nearly swept the house.In the current election, opposition parties have failed to secure the minimum 10% of seats required to claim the post, leaving the civic body without a recognized opposition leader and underscoring the BJP’s overwhelming dominance.The results also dealt a blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with its leader of opposition Payal Sakariya losing the election along with her entire panel. Another setback came with the defeat of AAP state general secretary Manoj Sorathiya from Ward 4 (Kapodra), where the party had earlier swept all four seats.The outcome marks a sharp contrast to previous elections. In 2015, Congress had emerged as a strong opposition with 36 seats, while in 2021, AAP entered the SMC as the principal opposition with 27 seats and the Congress failed to open its account. This time, a mix of electoral losses and defections has further consolidated the BJP’s hold.Among key BJP wins, former mayor Daxesh Mavani was re-elected from Ward 6 (Katargam), while standing committee chairman Rajan Patel retained his seat from Ward 9 (Rander-Jahangirabad-Palanpur). It is relatively uncommon for councillors holding top civic posts to be renominated in subsequent elections.Congress managed a lone win, with Arshad Jariwala securing victory from Ward 12 (Nanavat-Kubernagar-Mahidharpura) by a narrow margin.For AAP, the only notable success came from Ward 17 (Puna East), where city president Dharmesh Bhanderi and his panel — Asmita Dhorajiya, Rachna Hirpara and Pankaj Chavda — registered a comfortable win.In the Vapi Municipal Corporation’s maiden election, the BJP secured a clear majority by winning 37 of 52 seats. Congress won 11 seats, while four seats went to independents. In Ward 12, Adivasi Sena won all four seats. The election also saw some local leaders contesting independently after not being accommodated by the BJP, after the amalgamation of adjoining villages into municipal limits.
