Gujarat bypolls: Visavadar seat to witness three-way fight

The by-elections to the Visavadar assembly seat in BJP-ruled Gujarat on June 19 is likely to be a triangular contest, with the AAP already having announced its candidate and its INDIA bloc partner Congress stating that it would go solo in the by-poll. The Congress and BJP have expressed confidence about emerging victorious after the Election Commission on Sunday announced the schedule for the by-polls to the Visavadar and Kadi assembly constituencies in Junagadh and Mehsana districts, respectively.

The bypolls will be held on June 19, and the counting of votes will take place on June 23, the EC stated in a release.

The last date for filing nomination forms will be June 2, scrutiny of forms will undertaken on June 3, and the last date to withdraw nomination is June 5, it was stated.


The AAP has already announced the candidature of Gopal Italia from the Visavadar seat, and the Congress had earlier stated that it would not be entering into an alliance and would go it alone in the bypolls.

Talking to reporters in Mehsana, Gujarat Health Minister and BJP government spokesperson Hrishikesh Patel said he is confident that the people of Gujarat will reject the Congress or any other party.

"We are going to win both seats with a lead of thousands of votes," he said.

Gujarat Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil said his party started preparing for the bypolls well in advance.

Congress has announced a panel of observers to select candidates for both the seats.

The Visavadar seat in Junagadh district has been lying vacant since December 2023 when the then AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while the Kadi seat in Mehsana, a constituency reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, has been vacant since February 4 after the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki.

In the 182-seat Gujarat assembly, the BJP has 161 legislators, Congress has 12, and AAP has four, while one seat is with the Samajwadi Party and two independents.