Gujarat Manjalpur By-Election Counting Begins

The counting of votes for the Manjalpur Assembly by-election in Gujarat has begun. Tight security arrangements have been made at the counting centre. In the by-election to the Manjalpur seat in Vadodara district, BJP candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel, who is a former corporator of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation. Congress candidate Bhikhabhai Rabari, who is the party's Gujarat vice-president and a former state minister. There is a direct contest between the two. Polling in the seat was held on 30 July after the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Yogesh Patel. Voting in the Manjalpur seat was peaceful. The voter turnout was 37.50 percent, which is significantly lower than the 60.15 percent recorded in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections. According to the Election Commission, a total of 2,19,494 voters were eligible to vote in the Manjalpur seat, including 1,634 persons with disabilities, 1,406 voters aged 85 and above, and 12 centenarians. Before polling day, 107 voters, including 90 senior citizens, had cast their votes through the ECI facility.