Manjalpur bypoll results: BJP’s Satish Patel extends lead over Congress in Gujarat

Vadodara: BJP candidate Satish Patel has further strengthened his lead in the Manjalpur Assembly by-election in Gujarat as counting of votes continued on Monday.

According to the latest Election Commission trends, Patel is leading against Congress candidate Bhikhabhai Rabari by over 9,800 votes. Earlier in the day, the BJP candidate had taken an early lead, which continued to widen as more rounds of counting were completed.

Counting began at 8 am at Bhavan's School in Vadodara’s Makarpura area under tight security. The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being counted as per the guidelines issued by the Election Commission.

The Manjalpur bypoll was held on July 30 and recorded a voter turnout of 37.5 per cent, significantly lower than the 60.15 per cent turnout witnessed during the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election.

The election was necessitated following the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Yogesh Patel on June 2 after a prolonged illness.

The BJP fielded former Vadodara Municipal Corporation councillor Satish Patel, while the Congress nominated its Gujarat vice-president and former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari.

Polling was held across 260 polling stations at 62 locations and remained peaceful, with no untoward incidents reported.

Yogesh Patel was one of the BJP’s longest-serving legislators in Gujarat. He represented the Raopura Assembly constituency five times between 1990 and 2007 before moving to the newly created Manjalpur seat after delimitation. He later won the Manjalpur seat in 2012, 2017 and 2022, completing eight consecutive Assembly election victories over a political career spanning 36 years.