Gopal Italia of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerged victorious in the Visavadar Assembly constituency, securing 75,942 votes and defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kirit Patel, who received 58,388 votes. The Congress nominee, Nitin Ranpariya, managed to secure 5,501 votes, while 1,716 votes were cast for NOTA (None of the Above).&nbsp;
Italia maintained a clear lead from the beginning of the counting process, which began at 8 am on Monday, and ultimately won by a margin of 17,554 votes.
This by-election was necessitated following the resignation of former AAP MLA Bhupat Bhayani, who subsequently joined the BJP. The Visavadar seat, located in Gujarat&rsquo;s Junagadh district, has largely been held by opposition candidates since 2012. That year, former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel quit the BJP, formed the Gujarat Parivartan Party, and won the Visavadar seat.
After resigning in 2014 due to health reasons, a bypoll was held, and Harshad Ribadiya from the Congress won the seat. Ribadiya remained the MLA until 2022, when Bhayani&mdash;then representing AAP&mdash;secured victory.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Visavadar recorded a voter turnout of 57.80%. Although polling was completed peacefully on June 19, re-polling was held in two villages&mdash;Malida and Nava Vaghaniya&mdash;on June 21. That process also concluded without any untoward incidents.
As per the ECI's data shared after 18 rounds of counting, Italia had received 65,295 votes while Patel stood at 51,222. The final tally saw Italia&rsquo;s vote count rise to 75,942. The AAP, which had won the seat in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, has now successfully retained it.
Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj, commenting on the party's performance, said, &ldquo;Political analysts were saying that AAP would finish as a party. But after the loss in Delhi, AAP is winning Ludhiana West (Assembly by-elections) and we are also winning a by-election in AAP's stronghold of Gujarat by a huge margin. I think this is a major victory. A few people used to say that Arvind Kejriwal would be sidelined in national politics; this is a terrific bounce back.&rdquo;
BJP Gets Kadi
In another key contest, the BJP won the Kadi Assembly seat in Gujarat&rsquo;s Mehsana district. BJP candidate Rajendra Chavda secured 99,709 votes, while Congress candidate Ramesh Chavda received 60,282. The AAP&rsquo;s Jagdish Chavda garnered 3,089 votes, and 1,701 votes were cast for NOTA. Chavda led the count through all 22 rounds, ultimately winning with a margin of 39,427 votes.
Speaking after his win, Chavda said, &ldquo;This is the victory of the Sangathan and the voters of Kadi. The public has accepted the way of working of the government and has given such a huge mandate.&rdquo;
The by-election in Kadi was held after the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki. Provisional turnout data from the ECI indicated that 56.89% of voters participated in the poll.
A total of eight candidates contested the Kadi seat, though the primary competition was between the BJP and the Congress. Other contestants included candidates from the AAP, the Shankersinh Vaghela-led Prajashakti Democratic Party, the Bharatiya Jan Parishad, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Party, and the Aapki Awaz Party.
Despite being alliance partners at the national level, the Congress and AAP contested the Gujarat bypolls independently. The outcome of these by-elections has increased the BJP&rsquo;s strength in the 182-member Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 161 to 162.
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(Left) Gopal Italia and Rajendra Chavda (Right)

Gujarat bypolls end with Italia's win for AAP and BJP’s Rajendra Chavda taking Kadi seat.

AAP Retains Visavadar, BJP Clinches Kadi Seat

Gujarat bypolls end with Italia's win for AAP and BJP’s Rajendra Chavda taking Kadi seat.

June 23, 2025 | 19:37 IST