Claiming that “no other political party has the courage to defeat the BJP” in Gujarat, Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil on Tuesday challenged the AAP to show its strength by winning 27 seats in the April 26 Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) elections. The AAP had won 27 seats in the 2021 SMC elections.The Union Minister was speaking at a ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ meeting with BJP workers in Surat.“AAP and Congress make big claims nowadays. In the 2021 local body elections, the Congress got only 55 seats in eight municipal corporations across the state and AAP got 27 seats — only in Surat Municipal Corporation. I am challenging the AAP: Win 27 seats in the upcoming SMC elections,” Patil said. People who voted for the APP in 2021 now feel that they had made a mistake, Patil said.“The people of those wards where AAP candidates got elected are unhappy with the working style of AAP elected leaders,” he claimed.“Surat city had been made Congress-free in the last elections, and this time too, the Congress will not win a single seat in the upcoming polls,” Patil claimed.“In the last local body elections, the BJP won 31 district panchayats with bumper majority, leaving not a single district panchayat for the AAP or the Congress. This shows the voters of Gujarat have full faith in the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and the BJP. During wartime (election time), BJP leaders and workers unite to fight for the victory with public cooperation. No other political party has the courage to defeat the BJP,” Patil said.“During the last election, the BJP won 196 seats out of 232 in the Taluka Panchayat and district panchayat across Gujarat, with the remaining 35 seats going to Congress and a single seat to AAP. In the last Nagar Palika election, the BJP won 89 Nagar Palikas out of 91. This shows the seeds sown by PM Narendra Modi when he was chief minister have now turned into fruits.”Story continues below this adHe also appealed to the party leaders who didn’t get tickets for the polls to set aside their differences now and unite for the party’s victory in the local polls.“PM Narendra Modi had introduced a BIl in Parliament for implementation of the 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha. Congress, SP and TMC did not support PM Modi’s plan to make the women’s hands strong and voted against such the Bill. The women are waiting for the appropriate time to give those parties a fitting reply,” the Union minister said.AAP MLA Gopal Italia criticised the BJP over the “failure” of Surat Diamond Bourse, built at a cost of Rs 3,400 crore.“The BJP has no planning and constructed a huge complex (SDB), spending thousands of crores without consulting or taking advice from experts, veterans, and experienced diamond merchants. Had meetings with experts and experienced diamond merchants been held before the construction of such a complex, the SDB would not have been empty like it is today,” he said at an election meeting at Sarthana in Surat.Story continues below this ad“The diamond traders and businessmen are not interested in going there. Now Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi is threatening the diamond industry players to open their offices at SDB or face consequences,” he alleged.“In the last five years, as we were in opposition, we did not allow the SMC to raise property tax. Apart from this, we did not allow BJP leaders to sell the reserved land to the private builders in Surat. Such reserve lands and plots of the municipal corporations are sold to private players in cities such as Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, and Jamnagar,” he alleged.After winning the SMC election, the AAP will construct schools on such reserve plots, he said. Kamal Saiyed is a senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, providing extensive, on-the-ground coverage from Surat and the broader South Gujarat region and the Union territories of Daman, Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli. With a reporting career at the publication spanning back to 2007, he has established himself as a high-authority voice on the industrial, social, and political pulse of one of India’s fastest-growing urban hubs. Expertise Industrial & Economic Beat: Based in the "Diamond City," Saiyed offers expert reporting on the diamond and textile industries. His work tracks global market shifts (such as De Beers production changes), local trade policies, and the socio-economic challenges facing the millions of workers in Surat’s manufacturing hubs. Civic & Infrastructure Coverage: He consistently reports on urban development and public safety in Surat, including: Traffic & Urban Planning: Monitoring the city's 13-fold increase in traffic violations and the implementation of new municipal drives. Public Safety: Investigative reporting on infrastructure failures, fire safety NOC compliance in schools and commercial buildings, and Metro rail progress. Political Reporting: Tracking the shifting dynamics between the BJP, Congress, and AAP in South Gujarat and the neighboring Union Territories (Daman, Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli). Crime beat: Armed with a good source network Saiyed has been able to bring out the human side of crime stories in his region ... 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