Voting will be conducted again at two polling stations in Gujarat&rsquo;s Visavadar assembly constituency following reports of malpractice during the by-election held on Thursday. The Election Commission of India (ECI), invoking Section 58(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, declared the earlier polling at Booth No. 86 in Malida village and Booth No. 111 in Nava Vaghania village void.&nbsp;
Re-polling is scheduled for Saturday, between 7 am and 6 pm.
The decision came after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lodged a complaint alleging incidents of booth capturing and fake voting at the two locations. Following an investigation prompted by the complaint, the Commission decided to nullify the votes cast at these stations and ordered fresh polling. All political contenders, local voters, and involved parties have been urged by the Commission to adhere to the revised schedule.
Polling on June 19 across the Visavadar and Kadi (SC) constituencies concluded without disruptions. According to the Chief Electoral Officer&rsquo;s office, the preliminary turnout was 56.89% in Visavadar and 57.90% in Kadi. Voting commenced at 7 am and ended at 6 pm. The data was uploaded by presiding officers using the ECINET app by 7 pm on polling day.&nbsp;
Form 17C, detailing the total votes cast, was issued to polling agents as per Rule 49S of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.&nbsp;
EVMs underwent mock testing in the presence of candidate-appointed polling agents before the voting began. To ensure updated voter records, the Commission carried out a summary revision of the electoral roll effective April 1, 2025. Final voter lists were released on May 5, 2025, and distributed to recognised parties and candidates.&nbsp;
Booth Level Officers (BLOs) verified these records locally, while Booth Level Agents (BLAs) submitted 489 objections in Visavadar and 692 in Kadi. No legal appeals regarding the voter rolls were submitted to the District Magistrate or Chief Electoral Officer under Section 24 of the RP Act, 1950.
A total of 588 polling stations were established, with three added following a revision that capped voters per booth at 1,200. Each station was equipped with required facilities, and arrangements were made to collect mobile phones at the entrances for first-time voters&rsquo; convenience. Among the booths, one was operated by women staff, another designated for PwD voters, and one served as a model station.
EVM inspection and testing took place in Visavadar from May 2-5 and in Kadi from February 24-28. EVM commissioning was held on June 13 for Visavadar and June 12 for Kadi, with candidate representatives present.&nbsp;
Mock polling verified the compatibility of results with VVPAT slips. Machines were assigned to polling stations through a two-level randomisation process, ensuring transparency.
Election duty personnel were selected through a three-step randomisation mechanism, monitored by General Observers. Practical training sessions included test polls of 100 sample votes, and results were cross-checked with VVPAT outputs. At the conclusion of training, presiding officers confirmed the functionality of the EVMs.
Throughout the election cycle, meetings took place at multiple administrative levels &mdash; including those of the CEO, DEO, and ERO/RO &mdash; to brief political representatives. Additional meetings were held with candidates and their agents to clarify the procedures. As per amended guidelines from the ECI, candidate help booths were permitted at a distance of 100 metres from polling entrances to assist voters who did not receive slips.
A total of 172 individuals, including voters above 85 years and those with disabilities, cast their ballots from home via postal vote. Specially appointed teams carried out the process in the presence of candidate representatives. Two General Observers, two Police Observers, and two Expenditure Observers were deployed to oversee the process in both constituencies. Since the election schedule was announced on May 26, 2025, enforcement authorities have confiscated assets worth Rs 90.15 lakh.
On polling day, the C-Vigil mobile application received 41 complaints from voters, of which 34 were resolved in under 100 minutes. The Election Commission has digitised the post-vote reporting process by replacing manual index card generation with a digital method to streamline result processing after the count.
The Kadi Assembly by-election was prompted by the demise of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Karshan Solanki in February. The seat, reserved for Scheduled Castes, witnessed a contest among eight candidates. BJP&rsquo;s Rajendra Chavda, Congress&rsquo;s Ramesh Chavda, and AAP&rsquo;s Jagdish Chavda are in the fray.
In Visavadar, the vacancy was created after AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned in December 2023 and joined the BJP. The party eventually nominated Kirit Patel, former district president and cooperative sector leader, as its candidate.&nbsp;
He faces AAP&rsquo;s Gopal Italia and Congress&rsquo;s Nitin Ranpariya. AAP's campaign received support from national leaders including Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and Atishi, who accompanied Italia during the nomination filing.
Additionally, the newly formed Praja Shakti Democratic Party, led by former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela, has fielded candidates in both constituencies.
The Gujarat Legislative Assembly currently comprises 161 BJP members, 12 from the Congress, four from AAP, one from the Samajwadi Party, and two independents. The counting of votes is set for June 23, 2025.
&nbsp;

(Left) Gopal Italia and Kirit Patel (Right)

Fresh voting in Visavadar on June 21 after complaints of booth capturing and fake ballots.

EC Orders Re-Poll at Two Visavadar Booths

Fresh voting in Visavadar on June 21 after complaints of booth capturing and fake ballots.

June 20, 2025 | 19:52 IST