Visavadar: The counting of votes for the Visavadar Assembly by-election is underway, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is on track to retain the seat. Counting began at 8 AM on Monday, with votes being tallied across 14 tables.

According to the latest results from the 18th round, AAP candidate Gopal Italia has secured a total of 65,295 votes, maintaining a strong lead over his rivals. The BJP has received 51,220 votes, while the Congress trails with just 4,798 votes.

Italia has been in the lead for most of the counting process so far. In the 17th round, AAP had 62,151 votes compared to BJP’s 47,754. Similarly, in the 16th round, AAP had 58,514 votes, while BJP had 45,120.

The by-election saw a multi-cornered contest, but the main fight remained between AAP’s Gopal Italia and BJP’s Kirit Patel. Congress, which fielded Ramesh Parmar, has remained in third position through all rounds.

The Visavadar bypoll was necessitated after former AAP MLA Bhupat Bhayani resigned and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Notably, this seat has been with the opposition since 2012, when former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel left the BJP, formed the Gujarat Parivartan Party, and won the seat. He later resigned in 2014 due to health issues, prompting a by-election in which Harshad Ribadiya of the Congress won. Ribadiya remained MLA until the 2022 election, when Bhupat Bhayani, then with AAP, claimed the seat.

Voting was conducted peacefully on Thursday. According to the Election Commission of India, Visavadar recorded a voter turnout of 57.80%. However, re-polling was ordered in two villages—Malida and Nava Vaghaniya—which concluded peacefully on June 21.

The final result is expected to be announced officially by the Election Commission post noon. However, AAP appears poised for victory as it maintains a comfortable lead nearing the end of the counting process. DeshGujarat