AAP wins in Gujarat, Punjab; Cong in Kerala

AAP's Gopal Italia Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar Assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led UDF wrested Nilambur from the ruling LDF in Kerala, according to results of Assembly bypolls in four states.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The ruling BJP in Gujarat retained the Kadi seat, while the Trinamool Congress maintained its hold on the Kaliganj Assembly seat in West Bengal's Nadia district.

The bypolls in the five constituencies were held June 19. Italia, the former president of the Gujarat unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), defeated his nearest rival, BJP candidate Kirit Patel, in Visavadar seat of Junagadh district by a margin of 17,554 votes, according to data shared by the Election Commission.

Despite its near-total dominance in the state, the BJP has not won the Visavadar seat since 2007. The seat fell vacant in December 2023 after the then AAP legislator Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the ruling BJP. Punjab's ruling AAP retained the Ludhiana West Assembly seat with its candidate Sanjeev Arora defeating his nearest rival and Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu by a margin of 10,637 votes.