FOUR PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE GIRL'S DEATH IN NADIA

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday retained the Visavadar assembly seat, while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Kadi seat as the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the results for two key seats in Gujarat.

- Maulik Pathak

AHMEDABAD:

In Visavadar seat, AAP candidate and the party's former state unit president Gopal Italia won by a margin of 17,581 votes. While Italia secured 75,942 votes, BJP's Kirit Patil got 58,388 votes, followed by Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya with 5,501 votes, according to data shared by EC.

With Italia's victory, the AAP now has five members in the 182-member Gujarat assembly.

The bypoll in Visavadar was necessitated following the resignation of AAP legislator Bhupendra Bhayani in December 2023, who later joined the BJP. The ruling party was looking to break the 18-year jinx in Visavadar, where the party had last won in 2007.

Following his victory, Italia said the BJP failed to win despite putting all its efforts in Visavadar, a seat once represented by former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel. "People of Visavadar have set an example that common citizens can do wonders if they take a resolve. Poll results of Visavadar proved that money or muscle power can never survive in front of people's power," he said.

Kejriwal hailed the party's performance with its victories in Gujarat and Punjab, saying, "It is often said that the ruling party wins in bypolls. But our win in Gujarat shows that people are fed up with the 30 years of BJP rule. They now see AAP as a credible alternative," he said.

In Kadi seat of Mehsana district, BJP candidate Rajendra Chavda won by a margin of 39,452 votes. While Rajendra Chavda secured 99,742 votes, Congress's Ramesh Chavda came second with 60,290 votes followed by AAP's Jagdish Chavda.