Gandhinagar, March 25 (IANS) A meeting of the Gujarat unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Core Committee was held on Wednesday at the official residence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

The meeting was attended by senior party leaders and Ministers, including Rushikesh Patel, Jitu Vaghani and State BJP President Jagdish Vishwakarma.

The closed‑door meeting came a day after the State Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2026, making the state the second in the country after Uttarakhand to clear legislation aimed at establishing a uniform set of civil laws governing marriage, divorce, succession, inheritance and related personal matters across all religions and communities.

The Assembly debate on the Bill lasted for more than seven hours before it was adopted with a majority.

The discussions at the Core Committee meeting are likely to review organisational strategy and administrative coordination in the context of the legislative development and preparations for the upcoming local body elections scheduled across municipal corporations and other local authorities in the state later this year.

These polls will cover numerous urban local bodies, including municipal corporations in cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara.

No official statement was issued immediately after the meeting.

The BJP leaders have in recent weeks emphasised the party’s readiness for the upcoming electoral exercises and its ongoing efforts to communicate government initiatives to voters, senior officials said.

The passage of the UCC Bill has attracted attention in state and national political circles, with supporters highlighting its aim of legal uniformity and opponents raising concerns about its potential impact on personal laws and cultural practices.

The local body elections will be among the first major electoral tests for political parties in Gujarat this year, with control of urban and rural governing bodies seen as an important barometer of public sentiment.

The upcoming local body elections are also crucial for setting the tone for the state Assembly elections scheduled in 2027.

–IANS

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