Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia has registered victory from Visavadar, Junagadh district in Gujarat by-election. Italia is a former party state president. He defeated BJP's Kirit Patel by a margin of 17,581 votes, while Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya remained in third place.
The by-poll was necessitated by AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani’s resignation in December 2023. He later joined the BJP, reducing AAP’s Gujarat assembly seats to four (Dediapada, Jamjodhpur, Botad, Gariadhar).
Visavadar, historically a BJP stronghold under former chief minister Keshubhai Patel. But it shifted to AAP in 2022, making this a critical battle for AAP to reclaim its foothold.
BJP retains Kadi
In Kadi, a Scheduled Caste-reserved constituency in Mehsana district, BJP candidate Rajendra Chavda won with a margin of 38,904 votes against Congress candidate Ramesh Chavda. The bypoll followed the death of BJP MLA Karsanbhai Solanki in February 2025. Kadi has long been a BJP bastion, and the party aims to retain its dominance, while Congress seeks to capitalize on local dynamics.
In the 182-member Gujarat assembly, before the by-poll results, BJP held 161 seats, Congress 12 (down from 17 due to defections and Geniben Thakor's Lok Sabha win), AAP four, Samajwadi Party one, and two Independents.
UDF candidate wins Nilambur seat in Kerala
Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Aryadan Shaukat has won the Nilambur seat in Kerala. He defeated CPI (M) candidate M. Swaraj by 11077 votes.
Meanwhile, the AAP candidate is leading in Ludhiana West seat in Punjab. TMC is leading in Kaliganj seat in West Bengal. Voting was held on all five seats on June 19.
Prakash Kumar Pandey