Counting of votes begins for Manjalpur Assembly bypoll in Gujarat

The BJP in Gujarat on Monday retained the Manjalpur assembly seat in Vadodara district, with the party candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel winning the bypoll, defeating his Congress challenger and former Minister Bhikhabhai Rabari by 30,630 votes.

According to the Election Commission, Mr. Patel secured 55,481 votes, while Mr. Rabari polled 24,851 votes after all 20 rounds of counting were completed. Mr. Patel and Mr. Rabari were the only candidates in the fray in the saffron stronghold.

Notably, the BJP’s margin of victory reduced in the current contest compared to 1,00,754 in the 2022 assembly elections, when the saffron party scored a record victory in Gujarat.

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Thanking the voters after his victory, Mr. Patel, a former Councillor of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, said the people had once again reaffirmed their faith in the BJP.

His opponent, Mr. Rabari, a Gujarat vice president and former Minister, alleged the misuse of government machinery to ensure his defeat.

“I sincerely thank the people from the bottom of my heart for preserving Manjalpur as a fortress of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” Mr. Patel told reporters.

Asked about his priorities as the MLA, Mr. Patel said a BJP worker is always prepared to serve the people, especially the needy and the marginalised. “We will carry this work forward,” he added.

Mr. Rabari alleged widespread violations of the model code of conduct during the poll campaign.

“The entire government machinery, including Ministers, was deployed against me. There was open violation of the model code of conduct, and every possible tactic was used to defeat me. I am deeply saddened by the manner in which the code was violated,” he alleged.

Claiming that the election was not fought on a level playing field, the Congress leader said, “They (BJP) openly celebrated, beat drums and intimidated my workers, which affected voter turnout in my favour. I could not contest the election in the completely democratic manner in which it should have been fought. I have not received justice.” There was no immediate response from the BJP or the Election Commission on Rabari’s allegations.

Counting of votes began at 8 a.m. on the premises of Bhavan’s School in Makarpura area of Vadodara city amid tight security.

The bypoll, held on July 30, was necessitated by the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minister Yogesh Patel in June following a prolonged illness.

The bypoll, held on July 30, recorded a voter turnout of 37.5%. The election was necessitated due to the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minister Yogesh Patel on June 2 following a prolonged illness.

With the victory, the BJP’s strength in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly has gone up to 162. The Congress has 12 MLAs, followed by the Aam Aadmi Party, which has five MLAs, Independents (two) and Samajwadi Party (one).