Gujarat bypolls: BJP ahead in Kadi, AAP leads by thin margin in Visavadar
Ahmedabad (PTI): AAP candidate Gopal Italia was leading by a thin margin in Visavadar while BJP's Rajendra Chavda was ahead in Kadi after the initial rounds of counting on Monday for bypolls to the two assembly seats in Gujarat, officials said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fielded their candidates in the two seats, where the byelections were held on June 19.
The Visavadar seat in Junagadh district fell vacant in December 2023 after the then AAP legislator Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the ruling BJP.
The Kadi constituency in Mehsana district, reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, was lying vacant since February 4 following the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki.
After the completion of two rounds of counting, AAP's former Gujarat president Gopal Italia was leading in Visavadar by 391 votes.
While Italia received 7,179 votes, his close rival and BJP candidate Kirit Patel was behind with 6,788 votes after two rounds, as per data shared by the Election Commission.
In Kadi, BJP's Rajendra Chavda gained a leading position with 12,701 votes while Congress' Ramesh Chavda was trailing with 6,949 votes.
The bypolls last week witnessed 57.90 per cent voter turnout in Kadi and 56.89 per cent in Visavadar.
The Congress has fielded Nitin Ranpariya in Visavadar.
Despite its near-total dominance in the state, the BJP has not won the Visavadar seat since 2007. Party leaders earlier said they were hopeful of overcoming the 18-year jinx this time.
In the last assembly election in 2022, AAP's Bhupendra Bhayani defeated BJP's Harshad Ribadiya, a Congress turncoat and former MLA, by 7,063 votes.
For the Kadi bypoll, the Congress gave ticket to Ramesh Chavda, a former MLA, who won the seat in 2012, but lost it to BJP's Karsanbhai Solanki in 2017.
Like Visavadar, there is a three-way fight in Kadi also, with the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP fielding Jagdish Chavda.
In the 182-member Gujarat assembly, the BJP currently has 161 legislators, Congress 12 and AAP four. While one seat is with the Samajwadi Party, two are with independents.
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Four passengers arrested at BLR airport with hydroponic ganja worth over Rs 21.5 crore
Bengaluru (PTI): Four passengers who arrived from Bangkok at Kempegowda International Airport here were arrested with hydroponic ganja valued at over Rs 21.5 crore in two separate cases, officials said on Saturday.
They were intercepted at Terminal 2 of the airport on May 1, they added.
In the first case, Bengaluru Customs said in a post on ‘X’ that three passengers arriving from Bangkok were intercepted, and 52.68 kg of hydroponic ganja, valued at Rs 18.43 crore, was seized from their baggage.
In a separate case on the same day, another passenger arriving from Bangkok was intercepted, and 9 kg of hydroponic ganja, valued at Rs 3.15 crore, was seized from his baggage.
In both cases, the accused, whose identities have not been disclosed, were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, officials added.
