Ahmedabad, May 25 (IANS) The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for by-elections to two Assembly constituencies in Gujarat — Visavadar and Kadi — with polling set to be held on June 19.

The Visavadar seat fell vacant following the resignation of Bhupat Bhayani, the sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA who later joined the BJP.

The Kadi constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, fell vacant after the demise of Karsan Punjabhai Solanki, the BJP MLA representing the seat.

According to a statement issued by the Election Commission, the gazette notification for the bye-elections will be issued on May 26 (Monday). The last date for filing nominations is June 2 (Monday), followed by the scrutiny of nominations on June 3 (Tuesday). Candidates can withdraw their nominations until June 5 (Thursday).

Polling on both seats will be conducted on June 19 (Thursday), and votes will be counted on June 23 (Monday). The Commission has set June 25 (Wednesday) as the final date by which the entire election process will be completed.

Located in the Saurashtra region, Visavadar has historically been a politically vibrant constituency. It was once represented by former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, and has seen power swing between the BJP and other parties. In the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, Bhupatbhai Bhayani won the seat on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket, making headlines as one of AAP’s notable gains in Saurashtra. However, his subsequent resignation and shift to the BJP necessitated the current bye-election.

This seat will now test the BJP’s consolidation efforts and AAP’s grassroots presence in the region.

Kadi, a Scheduled Caste (SC)-reserved constituency in North Gujarat’s Mehsana district, has long been considered a BJP stronghold.

The seat fell vacant following the death of BJP MLA Karsan Punjabhai Solanki, who was elected in 2022. Given the BJP’s established influence in North Gujarat and its deep cadre network in Mehsana, the bypoll in Kadi is expected to be a key test of the party’s ability to retain support among SC voters amid national and local-level political developments.

–IANS

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