BJP MLA Sangita Patil records third straight win in Surat's Limbayat seat despite strong anti-incumbency

BJP MLA Sangita Patil on Thursday won from Surat's Marathi and Muslim-dominated Limbayat constituency for the third consecutive term, defeating her nearest rival, Aam Aadmi Party's Pankaj Tayede, by over 58,000 votes.

Congress party's candidate, Gopalbhai Patil, was placed third. The battle of ballots in Limbayat assembly turned interesting curious when the BJP named Sangita Patil as its candidate from the seat despite strong anti-incumbency.

As Patil, a prodigy of C R Paatil, BJP's state president in Gujarat, sought re-election as many as 44 independent candidates, mostly Muslims, joined the race. Marathi migrants constitute the biggest chuck of voters among Limbayat's 2.5-lakh electorate, followed by a sizeable number of Muslims. Migrant workers from Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana also play a role in any electoral outcomes in Limbayat.


The poor handling of migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic, worsening law and order and lack of adequate civic amenities were among issues that contributed to a strong wave of anti-incumbency. The results on Thursday, however, showed that Patil had succeeded to overcome anti-incumbency.