Ahmedabad: Two key Gujarat assembly seats, Kadi and Visavadar, went to bypolls on June 19. The results, declared today, saw a split victory between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), marking an intense three-way battle involving the Congress as well.
The BJP has retained the Kadi (SC-reserved) seat with candidate Rajendrakumar Daneshwar Chavda emerging victorious. He secured 94,804 votes, comfortably defeating Rameshbhai Chavda of the Congress, who received 56,769 votes. AAP’s Jagdishbhai Ganpatbhai Chavda finished a distant third with just 2,934 votes.
The Kadi seat had fallen vacant following the death of sitting BJP MLA Karsan Solanki in February 2024. With this win, the BJP continues to consolidate its stronghold in central Gujarat.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Gopal Italia has secured a significant victory in Gujarat’s Visavadar assembly bypoll, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kirit Patel by a margin of 17,554 votes.
Italia garnered 75,942 votes, while Patel received 58,388 votes. Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya lagged far behind with just 5,501 votes, highlighting a largely bipolar contest between AAP and BJP.
Italia’s win is being seen as a strong comeback for AAP in the region, especially after the party’s previous MLA from this seat, Bhupendra Bhayani, defected to the BJP, triggering this by-election. The by-election in Visavadar was necessitated after sitting AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the BJP in December 2023.
Both constituencies witnessed moderate turnout, with 57.90 per cent voting in Kadi and 56.89% in Visavadar. These bypolls were crucial for all three parties as they attempted to strengthen their position ahead of the next state elections.
While the BJP continues its dominance in Gujarat, Gopal Italia’s win reflects AAP’s growing grassroots appeal in Saurashtra.
