Gujarat bypoll: BJP's Satish Patel wins Manjalpur seat by over 30,000 votes
Vadodara, Aug 3
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Satish Patel won the Manjalpur Assembly by-election in Gujarat by a decisive margin on Monday, retaining the Vadodara seat for the party after securing 55,481 votes against 24,851 votes received by Congress candidate Bhikha Rabari.
The final result declared after 20 rounds of counting gave Patel a victory margin of 30,630 votes, extending the BJP's hold over one of its traditional strongholds in Vadodara.
Counting began in the morning at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Makarpura, with Patel establishing an early lead from the opening rounds. By 9 a.m., he was ahead by 3,519 votes, and after 11 rounds his lead had widened to 19,368 votes.
The advantage continued to grow through the remaining rounds before the BJP candidate was formally declared elected.
The by-election was necessitated by the death of veteran BJP MLA and former state minister Yogesh Patel, whose passing vacated the seat.
Yogesh Patel had represented Manjalpur since the constituency was created after delimitation in 2008, having earlier won five consecutive elections from the Raopura constituency, making him an eight-time MLA over a political career spanning more than three decades.
Satish Patel's candidature had drawn attention after the BJP surprisingly selected him.
A veteran party organiser from Vadodara's Chhani area, he has served as a Vadodara Municipal Corporation councillor, chairman of the civic body's Standing Committee, and former president of the Vadodara district BJP unit. He has also held positions in the cooperative sector, including chairman of the Chhani Nagarik Sahakari Bank and director of the Baroda Central Cooperative Bank and Vadodara Sugar Cooperative.
His Congress rival, Bhikha Rabari, is the vice-president of the Gujarat Congress and a former minister in the Madhavsinh Solanki government.
Polling for the by-election was held on July 30 and concluded largely peacefully, despite a brief altercation between BJP and Congress workers outside a polling station during the day.
The constituency recorded a final voter turnout of 37.50 per cent, considerably lower than the 60.15 per cent registered during the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election.
More than 2,19,000 electors were eligible to vote across 260 polling stations, where the Election Commission deployed 100 per cent webcasting, CCTV surveillance and other voter facilitation measures.
With the victory, the BJP retains the Manjalpur seat and continues its electoral dominance in the constituency, while Satish Patel succeeds the late Yogesh Patel as the constituency's representative in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Congratulations to Satish Patel ji on the victory! 🙏 Being a long-time party worker and having served as the district BJP president, he's paid his dues. This win is also a tribute to the late Yogesh Patel who served the constituency brilliantly for so many years.
A 30,000 vote margin in a bypoll is a clear message. But I do wish the voter turnout was higher. 37.5% is really low for a democracy. People who are disappointed with the government should also come out and vote, otherwise how will they ever bring change, right?
The Congress needs serious introspection. They fielded a former minister and still lost by 30,000 seats. Bhikha Rabari ji has a strong political background, but the party's organisational weakness is dragging down candidates. This is a wake-up call for the opposition.
Happy for Satish bhai! He's been associated with Chhani for decades and has done great work in the cooperative sector. This is what development politics is about. The sugar cooperative and bank experience means he understands the local economy well. Wishing him all the best for his new role. 👍
While I'm not a BJP supporter, I have to say this victory is no surprise. They have an excellent caste coalition and vote bank politics in Gujarat, better than anyone else. Also, the low turnout might be a sign of voter fatigue, but the party's ground game is unmatched, especially after Yogesh Patel's sad demise. The seat was never in question.
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