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

According to the latest Election Commission trends available around 11 a.m., Patel had secured 11,436 votes, while Congress candidate Bhikhabhai Rabari polled 7,717 votes, giving the BJP a lead of 3,719 votes.

The contest is a direct fight between the ruling BJP and the Congress. Earlier in the day, Patel had taken an early lead, which has steadily increased as more rounds of counting were completed.

Counting began at 8 a.m. at Bhavan's School in Vadodara's Makarpura area under tight security, with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being counted in accordance with Election Commission guidelines.

The bypoll, held on July 30, recorded a voter turnout of 37.5 per cent, significantly lower than the 60.15 per cent turnout registered 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 Satendrabhai Patel, while the Congress nominated its Gujarat vice-president and former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari.

Polling was conducted 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 shifting to the newly created Manjalpur seat after delimitation. He later won the constituency in 2012, 2017 and 2022, completing eight consecutive Assembly election victories over a political career spanning 36 years.

Note: Counting is still in progress, and the vote margin may change as additional rounds are completed.