Gujarat local body election results announced on October 13 produced victories for the BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party across municipal, taluka and district-level bypolls, while one reserved taluka panchayat seat remained vacant because no eligible Scheduled Tribe candidate was available.
The results covered general elections for Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation and the municipalities of Thara and Okha, along with bypolls to seats that had fallen vacant in local bodies across the state. The report also listed results from Kheralu, Chhota Udepur, Bayad, Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot district and Banaskantha.
In Kheralu Municipality’s Ward 1, BJP candidate Shubham Patel won a three-way contest with 1,005 votes. The Congress candidate received 805 votes and the Aam Aadmi Party candidate secured 747 votes. The BJP won the seat by 200 votes. The seat had previously been held by the Congress.
The BJP also won the Ward 4 bypoll in Chhota Udepur Municipality. Rajniben Jaydeepbhai Rathwa was declared elected with 752 votes. The by-election was held after the previous office-holder’s caste certificate was found to be invalid, according to the report. Voting took place at three polling stations.
In Aravalli district’s Bayad Municipality, BJP candidate Mahesh Parmar won the Ward 3 bypoll, which was necessitated by the resignation of a sitting member. The report did not provide the vote count or winning margin for the contest.
The Aam Aadmi Party secured the Bhadthar seat in the Devbhumi Dwarka District Panchayat. Its candidate Viru Kandoria won by a margin of 3,651 votes after counting across all seven rounds. The seat had fallen vacant following the death of BJP member Dr P.V. Kandoria.
After the result, Viru Kandoria dedicated the victory to farmers, poor people and disadvantaged communities. He thanked voters from all 14 villages covered by the seat and said development and public-interest work would be prioritised through the district panchayat.
The Congress retained the Thoriyali unreserved seat in Rajkot district’s Paddhari Taluka Panchayat. Congress candidate Laxman Shigala won by 227 votes. The report described the result as a setback for the BJP, whose senior leaders had campaigned in the constituency.
The Satalasana Taluka Panchayat seat in Banaskantha district could not be filled. The seat is reserved for a Scheduled Tribe candidate, but the election process could not proceed within the prescribed period because no eligible candidate was available and an insufficient number of nomination forms were submitted. The seat will therefore remain vacant for now.
