Vadodara: BJP retained the Manjalpur assembly seat on Monday with first-time candidate Satish Patel defeating Congress veteran Bhikha Rabari by 30,630 votes, comfortably holding the party’s urban stronghold but with a significantly lower margin than that recorded by late MLA Yogesh Patel in the 2022 election.The counting of votes, conducted in 19 rounds at Bhavan’s School in Manjalpur, saw Satish Patel secure 55,481 valid votes against Rabari’s 24,851. A total of 80,332 valid votes were polled, while 2,247 electors opted for NOTA and 12 votes were rejected, according to the official declaration of results.As BJP maintained its lead throughout the counting process, party workers celebrated outside the counting centre by bursting crackers and raising slogans.Thanking the electorate, Satish Patel said the verdict reaffirmed the constituency’s faith in BJP. “Manjalpur has remained a BJP stronghold and the results have reflected that the kind of love people had for the late Yogesh Kaka is the same that they have for me and the BJP.”The bypoll was necessitated by the death of eight-time MLA Yogesh Patel in June. BJP fielded Satish Patel, a cooperative sector functionary and former Vadodara district BJP president, while Congress nominated senior leader and former minister Bhikha Rabari.The result came against the backdrop of an unusually low voter turnout. The bypoll recorded around 37.5% turnout, substantially lower than the 60.15% recorded in the 2022 election.While BJP retained the seat, its victory margin narrowed considerably. In 2022, Yogesh Patel had won by 1,00,754 votes, whereas Satish Patel’s winning margin was 30,630 votes. In vote-share terms, BJP’s lead over Congress reduced from about 72 percentage points in 2022 to 38.14 percentage points in the bypoll.Rabari alleged that the election was not conducted in a fair manner. Alleging violations of Model Code of Conduct, he said senior BJP functionaries had campaigned aggressively in the constituency during the final phase of polling and that money and liquor were distributed to influence voters. He also alleged that some officials acted in favour of the ruling party and that Congress workers were assaulted.While BJP described the verdict as an endorsement of the party’s organisation and leadership transition after Yogesh Patel’s demise, Congress maintained that the reduced margin reflected growing public dissatisfaction despite the defeat.
