BJP retains the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation with 38 of 44 seats. Congress more than doubles its tally to 5, sweeping Ward 6, and AAP fails to open its account.
By Amdavad Gully News Desk
In short: The BJP has won the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) election 2026, taking 38 of the 44 seats. The Congress won 5 seats, an independent won 1, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won none. Votes were cast on 11 October 2026 and counted on 13 October 2026. Turnout was 59.25%. The BJP keeps a comfortable majority, but its tally is down from 41 seats in 2021.
Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation election result 2026: the final tally
Gujarat’s capital has voted, and the headline is familiar. The BJP stays in charge of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation for another five years.
The party crossed the majority mark of 23 with plenty of room to spare. It won 38 of the 44 seats across the city’s 11 wards.
But the full scorecard has a few twists. The Congress more than doubled its seats. One seat went to an independent. And AAP, which had a councillor in the outgoing house, drew a blank.
| Party | Seats won (2026) | Seats won (2021) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| BJP | 38 | 41 | −3 |
| Congress | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| AAP | 0 | 1 | −1 |
| Total | 44 | 44 |
Counting began at 9 am on 13 October at the Commerce College campus in Sector 15. Trends tilted towards the BJP early, and the party’s lead held through the day.
Who won the Gandhinagar civic polls?
The BJP won the Gandhinagar civic polls 2026. With 38 seats, it holds more than 86% of the house. That is enough to elect the mayor and control every major committee without help from anyone else.
Party workers celebrated outside Kamalam, the BJP’s state headquarters in Gandhinagar, and near the counting centre with drums, colour and fireworks. Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi called the result a sweep in a post on social media.
Formal reactions from the Congress and AAP were awaited when this story was filed. We will update this report as they come in.
Ward-wise result: where the BJP swept and where it slipped
Gandhinagar is divided into 11 wards. Each ward elects four councillors, which makes 44 seats in all.
The BJP won all four seats in eight of the 11 wards. In two more wards, it won three of the four seats. The only ward where it did not win a single seat was Ward 6.
Ward 6: the Congress clean sweep
Ward 6 is the big opposition story of this election. The Congress won all four seats here, breaking the BJP’s wave in at least one corner of the capital.
The four Congress councillors elected from Ward 6 are:
- Hansaben Lalitkumar Ninama
- Meghnaben Rajubhai Desai
- Mehulkumar Aravindbhai Rathod
- Karmjitsinh Virendrasinh Vaghela
Wards 2 and 7: one seat each slips away
The BJP’s full panel was broken in two other wards. In Ward 7, the Congress’s Nagin Nadiya won one of the four seats. The BJP won the other three.
The 44th seat went to an independent candidate. Reports indicate that the BJP’s panel was also broken in Ward 2, where it won three of four seats.
| Ward pattern | Number of wards | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| BJP won all 4 seats | 8 | 32 BJP |
| BJP won 3 of 4 seats | 2 | 6 BJP, 1 Congress, 1 Independent |
| Congress won all 4 seats (Ward 6) | 1 | 4 Congress |
| Total | 11 | 44 |
2021 vs 2026: still a sweep, just a smaller one
The last GMC election was held in October 2021. That time, the BJP won 41 seats, the Congress won 2 and AAP won 1.
Compared with that result, the BJP has lost three seats. The Congress has gained three. AAP has lost its only seat, and an independent has entered the house.
Vote shares tell a fuller story, but the 2026 figures have not been published yet. In 2021, the BJP won 46.49% of the vote, the Congress 28.02% and AAP 21.77%. That 2021 contest was a genuine three-way fight. This time AAP’s presence on the ballot was much thinner, as the next section shows.
Once the State Election Commission publishes detailed vote shares, it will be clearer whether the Congress gained because AAP’s vote moved to it, or because of local factors in specific wards.
Why AAP drew a blank in Gandhinagar
AAP’s zero is partly a story of how many seats it actually fought. The party contested only 32 of the 44 seats.
- 4 AAP nominations were rejected by the State Election Commission during scrutiny.
- 5 AAP candidates withdrew before polling day.
- In 9 of the 12 seats where AAP had no candidate, the contest became a straight BJP vs Congress fight.
The BJP and the Congress both fielded candidates in all 44 seats. In all, 130 candidates were in the fray.
In 2021, AAP won a seat and close to 22% of the vote in Gandhinagar. Going from that to zero seats is a sharp fall, though the full picture depends on its 2026 vote share.
What the result means for each party
BJP: majority intact, margin trimmed
For the BJP, the result confirms its hold on the capital’s civic body for another term. Winning a full panel in eight of 11 wards points to a strong, well-spread base across the city.
The flip side is that the party is three seats short of its 2021 tally. Ward 6 and the two split wards will be the places its local unit studies most closely.
Congress: a foothold in the house
For the Congress, five seats is a modest number. But it is a clear improvement on two, and a full sweep of one ward shows it can still win a neighbourhood outright.
A larger presence in the house also means a louder voice in debates on the budget, civic works and complaints from residents.
AAP: back to square one
For AAP, the challenge is to rebuild. The party won close to a fifth of the vote in 2021. This time it was absent from 12 seats, partly because of rejected nominations and withdrawals.
The independent: one seat, but an unusual one
Party panels usually dominate Gandhinagar’s multi-member wards. In the corporation’s three previous elections, in 2011, 2016 and 2021, every seat went to a party candidate. One independent councillor in a 44-member house is a small number, but it breaks that pattern.
How the Gandhinagar civic election works
Gandhinagar follows the multi-member ward system used by municipal corporations across Gujarat. Each of the 11 wards elects four councillors, so every voter can cast up to four votes on the EVM.
Parties usually field a “panel” of four candidates in each ward. When all four of a party’s candidates win, it is called a full-panel win. When even one loses, the panel is said to be “broken”. That is exactly what happened to the BJP in three of the 11 wards this time.
Some seats in each ward are reserved, for example for women and for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes, as notified by the state. The elections are conducted by the State Election Commission, Gujarat, which announced this year’s schedule on 16 September 2026. The model code of conduct applied from then until the results.
Gandhinagar voter turnout 2026: 59.25%
Polling was held on Sunday, 11 October 2026, from 7 am to 6 pm, using electronic voting machines (EVMs).
| Turnout detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Voter turnout | 59.25% |
| Votes cast | 1,54,045 |
| Registered voters | 2,59,985 |
| Male voters | 1,32,570 |
| Female voters | 1,27,406 |
| Other voters | 9 |
| Wards | 11 |
| Seats | 44 |
| Candidates | 130 |
Put simply, about six in every ten registered voters turned up. Roughly 1.06 lakh registered voters did not vote.
The State Election Commission deployed extra police and patrolling teams on polling day, with special attention to sensitive and hyper-sensitive booths.
A short history of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation
The BJP’s win looks routine today, but Gandhinagar has not always been a one-party city. Its civic politics have swung more than once in 15 years.
- 2010: The Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation was formed on 16 March 2010, following a Gujarat High Court ruling in 2009.
- 2011: In the first election, the Congress won 18 seats and the BJP 15. Mahendrasinh Rana of the Congress became the first mayor.
- 2012: Three Congress councillors, including the mayor, switched to the BJP, handing it control of the house.
- 2016: The election ended in a 16–16 tie between the BJP and the Congress. The Congress actually won a higher vote share, 46.93% against the BJP’s 44.76%. The BJP later took control after a Congress councillor switched sides.
- 2021: The BJP swept the expanded 44-seat house with 41 seats.
- 2026: The BJP retains power with 38 seats, while the Congress recovers to 5.
That history is why the opposition will read Ward 6 as a sign of life, even as the BJP points to its overall majority.
What happens next in Gandhinagar?
The newly elected board will govern Gujarat’s capital for the next five years. Its first big task will be electing a new mayor and deputy mayor from among the councillors.
With 38 seats, the BJP will decide both posts. It is also expected to name the chairpersons of the standing committee and other key committees.
For the Congress, five seats give it a stronger voice in the house than it had after 2021. Reports suggest it now has the numbers to claim the post of Leader of Opposition in the corporation.
The new board will inherit the city’s ongoing civic agenda, from roads and drainage to water supply, waste management and new housing sectors.
Why this matters for Amdavadis
Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad are twin cities in all but name. Thousands of people commute between the two every day for government jobs, offices, colleges and business.
Decisions taken by the Gandhinagar civic body on roads, traffic, water and new development affect anyone who works, studies or does business in the capital. That includes a large number of Ahmedabad residents.
The result also gives a reading of the political mood in the region, a few months after Ahmedabad and other big cities held their civic polls in April 2026.
Other local body polls held on 11 October
Gandhinagar was not the only local body to vote on 11 October 2026. Polls were also held for:
- Okha municipality: 32 of 36 seats across nine wards went to polls. Four seats were won unopposed. 75 candidates contested.
- Thara municipality: 24 seats across six wards, with 59 candidates.
- By-elections: One seat each in Kheralu, Chhota Udepur and Bayad municipalities, plus seats in some district and taluka panchayats.
Official results for all local bodies are published by the State Election Commission, Gujarat.
Key takeaways
- BJP keeps Gandhinagar: 38 of 44 seats, well above the majority mark of 23.
- Congress recovers: 5 seats, up from 2, including a clean sweep in Ward 6.
- One independent: an independent candidate won a seat in the 44-member house.
- AAP wiped out: 0 seats, down from 1. It contested only 32 seats.
- Turnout: 59.25%, with 1,54,045 of 2,59,985 voters casting a ballot.
FAQ: Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation election 2026
Who won the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation election 2026?
The BJP won, taking 38 of the 44 seats. The Congress won 5 seats, an independent won 1 and AAP won none.
How many seats are there in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation?
There are 44 seats across 11 wards. Each ward elects four councillors. The majority mark is 23 seats.
When was the GMC election held and when were results declared?
Polling was held on 11 October 2026. Votes were counted and results declared on 13 October 2026.
What was the voter turnout in the Gandhinagar civic polls?
Turnout was 59.25%. Of 2,59,985 registered voters, 1,54,045 cast their votes.
How did the Congress perform in Gandhinagar?
The Congress won 5 seats, up from 2 in 2021. It won all four seats in Ward 6 and one seat in Ward 7.
How many seats did AAP win in Gandhinagar?
AAP won no seats, down from 1 in 2021. It contested only 32 of the 44 seats after four nominations were rejected and five candidates withdrew.
What was the result of the 2021 Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation election?
In 2021, the BJP won 41 seats, the Congress 2 and AAP 1, out of 44.
Who will be the next mayor of Gandhinagar?
The new mayor will be elected by the councillors. With 38 of 44 seats, the BJP will decide the mayor. The name had not been announced when this story was filed.
Results as declared on 13 October 2026. This story will be updated with vote shares, the full ward-wise list and the mayor’s election. For official results, visit the State Election Commission, Gujarat.