Vadodara: Ending days of suspense, the Congress on Sunday announced senior party leader Bhikha Rabari as its candidate for the Manjalpur Assembly by-election, barely 24 hours before the deadline for filing nominations.Rabari will take on the BJP’s Satish Patel, a former chairman of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s standing committee, whose candidature had come as a surprise after the ruling party overlooked several local contenders.The Congress delayed announcing its nominee till the final stage of the nomination process, even as the BJP had already launched its campaign.The by-election was necessitated following the death of eight-time BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Yogesh Patel. The Election Commission has scheduled polling for July 30, while counting of votes will take place on Aug 3.
