Gopal Italia Leads in Visavadar as BJP Secures Kadi Seat

Ahmedabad, Jun 23 (PTI) AAP candidate Gopal Italia took a substantial lead in the Visavadar seat as counting for the bypolls in two Gujarat constituencies neared completion on Monday. Officials indicated that the BJP was poised to retain the Kadi seat.

Upon the conclusion of 18 out of 21 counting rounds, AAP's former Gujarat president, Italia, was ahead by 14,073 votes over his closest competitor in Visavadar.

Italia secured 65,295 votes, while BJP candidate Kirit Patel trailed with 51,222 votes after 18 rounds, according to the latest Election Commission data.

In the Kadi seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, BJP's Rajendra Chavda led with a significant margin of 35,608 votes over Congress' Ramesh Chavda after 16 of 21 counting rounds.

The bypolls, held on June 19, recorded a 57.90% voter turnout in Kadi of Mehsana district and 56.89% in Visavadar constituency located in Junagadh district, officials reported.

The BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) each fielded candidates in both seats.

The Visavadar seat became vacant in December 2023 following the resignation of AAP legislator Bhupendra Bhayani, who joined the BJP.

The Congress nominated Nitin Ranpariya in Visavadar.

Despite its predominance in the state, the BJP has not claimed the Visavadar seat since 2007. Party leaders were hopeful of breaking the 18-year drought this time.

In the 2022 assembly election, AAP's Bhupendra Bhayani defeated BJP’s Harshad Ribadiya, a former Congress MLA, by 7,063 votes.

The Kadi constituency became vacant following the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki on February 4.

For the Kadi bypoll, Congress allotted the ticket to Ramesh Chavda, a former MLA who won in 2012 but was defeated by BJP's Karsanbhai Solanki in 2017.

AAP, led by Arvind Kejriwal, fielded Jagdish Chavda in Kadi.

In the 182-member Gujarat assembly, the BJP currently holds 161 seats, Congress 12, and AAP four. One seat is held by the Samajwadi Party, and two are with independents.

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