Early Voter Turnout in Gujarat's Visavadar and Kadi Bypolls

Ahmedabad, Jun 19 (PTI) Assembly bypolls in Gujarat's Visavadar and Kadi constituencies began with notable voter turnout in the early hours. By 11 AM, Visavadar in Junagadh district recorded a 28.15% turnout, while Kadi in Mehsana district saw 23.85%, according to the Election Commission. The polling, which started at 7 AM, will continue until 6 PM. The state government declared a public holiday on Thursday for these constituencies to facilitate voting.

Candidates from BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are vying for the seats in both regions. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being used across 294 polling stations in each constituency. The Visavadar seat became vacant in December 2023 after AAP legislator Bhupendra Bhayani resigned to join the BJP. The Kadi seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, fell vacant when BJP MLA Karsan Solanki passed away on February 4.

In Visavadar, BJP's Kirit Patel and Congress' Nitin Ranpariya were among the early voters. AAP has fielded its former Gujarat president, Gopal Italia, although he isn't registered as a voter in this constituency. Despite dominating the state, the BJP has not secured a victory in Visavadar since 2007, but party leaders are hopeful of ending this 18-year run. In the 2022 assembly election, Bhupendra Bhayani of AAP defeated BJP's Harshad Ribadiya by 7,063 votes.

In Kadi, BJP's candidate Rajendra Chavda is competing against Congress' Ramesh Chavda, a former MLA. Ramesh Chavda won here in 2012 but lost to BJP's Karsanbhai Solanki in 2017. AAP is fielding Jagdish Chavda, making this a three-party contest as well.

The vote counting is scheduled for June 23. Currently, in the 182-member Gujarat assembly, the BJP holds 161 seats, Congress 12, and AAP four. The Samajwadi Party and independents have one and two seats, respectively.

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