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NEW DELHI, Dec. 18-- India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday won the assembly elections in the western state of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in the north. Though the BJP won the crucial elections in the state of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's homestate, its margin of victory is said to have lowered than last time. However, the BJP swept the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, decimating the country's main opposition Congress party, which has been governing the state for the past five years. "Dynasty, casteism and appeasement has lost to development," BJP chief Amit Shah, who also belongs to Gujarat, told the media in the national capital. Modi said the election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh "indicate a strong support for politics of good governance and development." Congress party, however, conceded defeat even before the results were fully out. Rahul Gandhi, the party's newly appointed chief who campaigned hard in Gujarat, said his party "accepts the verdict of the people and congratulates the new governments in both states." | 
