India, April 29 -- Even though no upsets were expected in the Gujarat local body polls, the scale and sweep of the BJP's win (all 15 municipal corporations) are stunning. With assembly polls in the state due next year, the result offers a mirror to the political climate in the state. At least, two trends stand out.

One, the BJP's organisational muscle and election management remain unsurpassed. The party has won all state elections since 1995, and has had an uninterrupted stint in office in Ahmedabad since 1998. In this period, the party organisation has expanded deep and wide. Each time it suspected a shift in public mood, the leadership corrected its course to stay in office. The party has thus always set the political agenda in the st...