Visavadar / Kadi : Counting of votes for the by-elections of two vacant Assembly seats, Visavadar and Kadi in Gujarat has began this morning. The picture of who is going to win will be clear by around noon.

Update at 1 pm: BJP retains Kadi seat with Rajendra Chavda winning by a margin of over 38,000 votes, while AAP’s Gopal Italia has secured victory for the party in Visavadar with a lead of over 17,000 votes at the end of all 21 rounds of counting.

Update at 11:40 am: BJP leads by a margin of 34,597 votes in Kadi Assembly seat. At the end of 15 rounds, BJP has secured 72,507 votes, Congress 37,910 votes, and AAP 1,839 votes.

At the end of 16 rounds in Visavadar, AAP is leading by 13,994 votes, securing 58,514 votes, while BJP has received 45,120 and Congress 4,414 votes.

Update at 11:20 am: At the end of 14 rounds in Visavadar, AAP is in the lead with 50,676 votes, followed by BJP with 40,042 votes and Congress with 4,133 votes.

Update at 11 am: At the end of 12 rounds in Visavadar, AAP’s Gopal Italia leads by 7,232 votes. AAP has received 42,450 votes, BJP 35,218 votes, and Congress 3,855 votes.

Update at 10:50 am: At the end of 11 rounds in Kadi, BJP leads by 21,021 votes; in Visavadar, Gopal Italia leads by 5,600 votes at the end of 11 rounds.

Update at 10:30 am: Rajendra Chavda of BJP leads in Kadi seat with 13,195 votes after 7 rounds. Lead of over 400 votes in Visavadar after 6 rounds.

Update at 10:15 am: BJP takes a lead of 11,958 votes in Kadi after 6 rounds of counting; also leading by over 900 votes in Visavadar after 5 rounds.

Update at 10 am: BJP leading in Kadi with a margin of 10,447 votes after 5 rounds; leading by over 846 votes in Visavadar after 4 rounds.

Update at 9:30 am: BJP’s Rajendra Chavda is leading after the first round in Kadi, while AAP’s Gopal Italia is leading in Visavadar.

Update at 9 am: Counting is in progress, but the result of any round is not out yet, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Visavadar is located in Junagadh district of the Saurashtra region, while Kadi is located in North Gujarat. The by-poll in Visavadar was necessitated due to the resignation of then Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Bhupat Bhayani, who also resigned from AAP and joined the BJP. The by-poll in Kadi was necessitated due to the passing away of then BJP MLA Karsanbhai Solanki. While Visavadar witnessed a triangular fight between BJP, Congress, and AAP candidates, Kadi saw a contest mainly between BJP and Congress candidates.

Voting concluded peacefully on Thursday and, as per the Election Commission of India, Visavadar recorded a voter turnout of 57.80%, while Kadi saw a 56.89% turnout. These were, however, provisional numbers. Re-polling in two villages—Malida and Nava Vaghaniya—was ordered and concluded peacefully in the Visavadar Assembly constituency on Saturday.

The results of these by-polls will determine whether the strength of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party increases from 161 to 162 or 163 in the 182-seat State Assembly. There were 16 candidates in the fray in the Visavadar by-poll, while 8 candidates contested the Kadi seat. Apart from BJP, Congress, and AAP candidates, the Shankersinh Vaghela-led Prajashakti Democratic Party also fielded candidates on both seats. Bharatiya Jan Parishad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Party, and Aapki Awaz Party were other small parties that fielded their candidates.

The ruling BJP fielded Kirit Patel in Visavadar. AAP fielded former State unit chief Gopal Italiya, while Congress fielded Nitin Ranpariya. Gopal Italiya came into the limelight due to AAP’s early announcement of his candidature. It remains to be seen whether AAP retains this seat or BJP/Congress snatches it from its fold. The Visavadar seat has conventionally elected opposition MLAs since 2012. BJP fielded Rajendra Chavda for the Kadi by-poll, while Congress fielded former Kadi MLA Ramesh Chavda. The Kadi seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.

This season of by-polls saw a breakup between AAP and Congress—two opposition parties that are in alliance nationally. Counting of votes for both Assembly seats will begin on Monday morning, and particularly in the case of Visavadar, it is believed that the process will be interesting until the last round. Due to the Assembly by-polls, Gram Panchayat elections in Kadi and Visavadar Assembly seat areas have been postponed. For BJP, the top campaigners were Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and State BJP Chief C.R. Patil. For Congress, State party chief Shaktisinh Gohil led the campaign, while for AAP, the party’s national chief Arvind Kejriwal himself campaigned in Visavadar. The by-polls lost some limelight due to the Air India plane crash tragedy in Ahmedabad.

While Kadi had 2.89 lakh eligible voters, Visavadar had 2.61 lakh eligible voters. Leuva Patidar caste voters dominate the rural Visavadar Assembly seat, while Kadva Patidar voters dominate the semi-urban/rural Kadi Assembly seat. DeshGujarat