BJP blames weather

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) thinks the hot weather on polling day marred its fortunes in Gujarat.

"Because of the soaring temperatures, a large section of voters abstained from voting. That certainly affected our performance," state BJP election committee convener Suresh Mehta told IANS.

The state recorded low polling, with only 42 per cent of the voters exercising their franchise.

The state has 26 seats in the Lok Sabha. Of the 24 results announced so far, the BJP and the Congress have won 12 seats each. The BJP had 21 seats in the dissolved house.

Mehta, a former chief minister, admitted the results were worse than the party's expectations.

"Our performance in the Saurashtra region is ok, but in the north, we have fared badly," he admitted in the BJP office, which wore a deserted look.