Gujarat's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Satish Govindbhai Patel as its candidate for the Manjalpur assembly bypoll in Vadodara city, with the party making the announcement on Friday. Voting on the seat will take place on 30 July, with counting scheduled for 3 August.
A familiar face with years on the Vadodara municipal body
Patel is far from a newcomer to the party organisation. He has previously been elected as a corporator of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on multiple occasions and went on to chair its influential Standing Committee, the body that plays a major role in the city's budget and key civic decisions. He has also earlier served as the BJP's Vadodara district president. That long organisational track record is what made him the party's pick for this bypoll.
Seat fell vacant after Yogesh Patel's death
The bypoll became necessary after the sitting BJP MLA from Manjalpur, Yogesh Patel, passed away. Yogesh Patel, who had been elected MLA eight times, died in Vadodara on 2 June at the age of 79 following a prolonged illness. After his nomination was announced, Satish Patel thanked the BJP's national and Gujarat leadership for placing their trust in him. Speaking to reporters, he said, "I have got this ticket on the basis of 32 years of dedicated service to the party. I am genuinely very happy about it. Today I met party workers, sought blessings at the Swaminarayan temple, and offered prayers at the temple built by Yogesh Kaka (Patel)." Other major parties, including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), are yet to announce their candidates for the seat.
Voting on 30 July, results on 3 August
The Election Commission had announced the Manjalpur bypoll as early as 2 July, setting 13 July as the last date for filing nominations. As per the schedule, voting will be held on 30 July and votes will be counted on 3 August. The Manjalpur seat is one of three assembly seats across different states where the Election Commission has simultaneously ordered bypolls, the others being Datia in Madhya Pradesh and Bankipur in Bihar. All three seats will go to the polls on 30 July, with counting taking place together on 3 August.
