The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday won 109 of the 126 seats in the Gujarat municipal and district panchayat elections in the 16 districts that hosted the by-elections, The Indian Express reported. The Congress secured 17 seats.

This comes a day after the party swept the first phase of the Maharashtra civic polls. Out of the 147 posts of municipal council heads, the BJP won 52 seats. Its ally, Shiv Sena, is at second position while Congress occupies the third rank with regard to number of seats.

The BJP’s victory in Maharashtra and Gujarat elections served as a testing ground for the Narendra Modi-led government’s popularity, after its controversial move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Modi congratulated party workers and thanked his voters for reinforcing their trust in the party. The prime minister said the results prove that the public want “all-round progress of the nation and will not tolerate corruption and misgovernance”. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that the results proved the success of the Centre’s efforts to launch surgical strikes against militants and the demonetisation exercise.

Acknowledging their defeat, Congress party spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “We accept our defeat. BJP must not forget that it was only the by-polls on some seats. Congress has always raised issues concerning people like notes ban and we will continue to do so,” The Indian Express reported.