Anand/Gandhinagar, May 4 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel, on Monday congratulated BJP candidate Harshad Parmar following his victory in the Umreth Assembly bye-election, thanking voters for their support and reaffirming the government’s development agenda.

In a post on X, Patel said, “Heartfelt congratulations to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Harshadbhai Parmar on the resounding victory in the Umreth Assembly bye-election. Many congratulations as well to all the dedicated party workers.”

“I sincerely thank the people of Umreth for their unwavering faith in the BJP’s politics of development. The flow of development and public service in Umreth will continue uninterrupted, and Umreth will make a significant contribution to the creation of a ‘Developed Gujarat’,” he added.

The result was declared earlier in the day by the Election Commission of India after counting concluded over 23 rounds.

Parmar secured 85,500 votes, defeating Congress candidate Bhrugurajsinh Chauhan, who polled 54,757 votes, by a margin of 30,743.

The bypoll to the Umreth Assembly constituency in Anand district was held on April 23 following the death of sitting BJP MLA Govind Parmar, a four-term legislator.

The BJP fielded his son, Harshad Parmar, while the Congress nominated Chauhan, a senior leader with experience in local governance.

Reacting to the outcome, BJP state president Jagdish Vishwakarma said, “Many thanks to the people of Umreth for giving the Bharatiya Janata Party a grand victory in the Umreth Assembly bye-election, and heartfelt congratulations to all the hardworking party workers.”

Polling in the constituency recorded a turnout of around 59 per cent, with the contest largely bipolar between the BJP and the Congress among six candidates in the fray.

The victory enables the BJP to retain the seat, continuing its hold in the region.

The bye-election took place alongside Assembly bypolls in multiple states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tripura and Nagaland, with counting for all constituencies carried out on Monday.

–IANS

mys/rad