BJP’s Satish Patel Wins Manjalpur Bypoll, Dedicates Victory

He paid tribute to Yogesh Patel, who had represented the seat for several terms before his death necessitated the by-election. “Late Yogesh Patel worked in this constituency for the past 25 years. The same affection that the people gave him has now been extended to me as well, and I am happy about that,” Patel said.

Expressing gratitude to voters and party workers, he added: “I am deeply thankful to all the people, the voter brothers and sisters, and our party workers.”

Patel said he visited the residence of the late leader soon after his victory. “Today, I went to Yogesh Kaka’s house and sought the blessings of his wife, whom we affectionately call Kakiji. I will continue the work that Yogesh Kaka had undertaken,” he said.

The BJP retained the Manjalpur Assembly seat after Satish Patel defeated Congress candidate Bhikha Rabari by 30,630 votes. Patel secured 55,481 votes, while Rabari received 24,851 votes, according to the official results declared after 20 rounds of counting.

The by-election was held following the death of Yogesh Patel, an eight-time MLA and one of the BJP’s prominent leaders in Vadodara. Satish Patel, a former Vadodara Municipal Corporation councillor, former chairman of the civic body’s Standing Committee and former BJP Vadodara district president, was fielded by the party for the seat.

Polling took place on July 30 and concluded peacefully with a 37.50 per cent voter turnout, lower than the 60.15 per cent recorded in the 2022 Assembly election.

The result allows the BJP to retain the Manjalpur seat, with the new MLA stating his intention to build on the developmental work associated with his predecessor.