Gujarat: BJP fields Satish Patel for Manjalpur Assembly bypoll
New Delhi/Vadodara July 9 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced Satish Patel as its candidate for the by-election to the Manjalpur Assembly constituency in Vadodara, becoming the first major political party to declare its candidate for the closely watched contest.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are yet to announce their candidates.
The bypoll was necessitated following the death of senior BJP leader and eight-time legislator Yogesh Patel on June 2 after a prolonged illness, leaving the Manjalpur Assembly seat vacant.
Patel, a former Gujarat minister, had represented the Manjalpur constituency since its creation following the delimitation of Assembly constituencies and was among the BJP’s senior leaders in Vadodara.
The Election Commission of India has scheduled polling for July 30, with counting of votes to take place on August 3.
The last date for filing nominations is July 13, scrutiny of nomination papers will be conducted on July 14, and candidates may withdraw their nominations until July 16.
The election process is scheduled to conclude by August 4.
The Model Code of Conduct came into force with the announcement of the bypoll schedule.
The Manjalpur constituency, one of 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat, is considered a BJP stronghold. In the 2022 Assembly election, Yogesh Patel retained the seat with a margin of more than one lakh votes.
With the BJP formally entering the electoral fray by naming Satish Patel as its nominee, attention has now shifted to the opposition parties.
The Congress and AAP have not yet declared their candidates, although both parties are expected to finalise their selections before the nomination deadline.
The by-election is the only Assembly bypoll scheduled in Gujarat during the current round of elections announced by the Election Commission.
Campaigning is expected to gather pace in the coming days as political parties intensify their outreach ahead of polling on July 30.
–IANS
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