The counting of votes for the Manjalpur Assembly bypoll in Gujarat’s Vadodara city began on Monday morning under tight security. Officials stated that the counting exercise started at 8 a.m. at Bhavan’s School premises in the Makarpura area, following Election Commission guidelines. The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were taken up for counting under multi-layered security arrangements.
The bypoll, held on July 30, saw a voter turnout of 37.5%. This election was necessitated due to the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minister Yogesh Patel on June 2, following a prolonged illness. The byelection was a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress.
The BJP fielded former Vadodara Municipal Corporation councillor Satish Govindbhai Patel, while the Congress nominated its Gujarat vice president and former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari. Polling was conducted at 260 polling stations across 62 locations and passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. Notably, the constituency had recorded a voter turnout of 60.15% in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections.
Yogesh Patel, an eight-term BJP legislator, represented the Raopura Assembly constituency in Vadodara five times between 1990 and 2007 before shifting to the newly created Manjalpur seat after delimitation. He won the Manjalpur seat in 2012, 2017, and 2022, completing eight consecutive victories in the Gujarat Assembly over a span of 36 years.
