Gandhinagar: The BJP on Monday named Harshad Parmar, son of former MLA Govind Parmar, as its candidate for the upcoming assembly byelection for the Umreth seat. Govind Parmar, who represented the Umreth seat in Anand district, died on March 6 at the age of 72 following a brief illness, necessitating the byelection.The Election Commission (EC) has scheduled the bypoll for April 23. In the state assembly elections in 2022, four-term MLA Govind Parmar defeated NCP’s Jayant Patel by more than 25,000 votes. In the 182-member Gujarat assembly, BJP has 161 seats, Congress 12, AAP 5, Samajwadi Party 1, and there are two Independents. Opposition parties — Congress and AAP — are yet to name their candidates for the bypoll.
