Manjalpur Bypoll Result 2026 Live Updates: Counting Begins At 8 AM; BJP, Congress In Direct Contest

Manjalpur Bypoll Result 2026, Counting Live Updates: Counting of votes for the Manjalpur Assembly by-election in Gujarat is set to begin at 8 am on Monday amid elaborate security arrangements at the designated counting centre in Vadodara.

The bypoll, held on July 30, was necessitated following the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Yogesh Patel. The election witnessed a direct contest between BJP candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel, a former Vadodara Municipal Corporation councillor, and Congress candidate Bhikhabhai Rabari, the party’s Gujarat vice president and a former state minister.

Polling concluded peacefully with a 37.50 per cent voter turnout, considerably lower than the 60.15 per cent recorded in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections. Voting was conducted across 260 polling stations under extensive security, with 100 per cent live webcasting and CCTV surveillance in place.

A total of 2,19,494 electors were eligible to vote, including 1,634 Persons with Disabilities, 1,406 voters aged 85 years and above, and 12 centenarians. Before polling day, 107 voters, including 90 senior citizens, cast their ballots through the Election Commission’s home voting facility.

Polling remained largely peaceful, barring a brief confrontation between BJP and Congress workers outside a polling station at Panchsheel Vidyalaya over an alleged Model Code of Conduct violation. Police intervened, dispersed the gathering and confirmed that voting continued uninterrupted.

While the result is unlikely to impact the BJP’s majority in the Gujarat Assembly, the outcome will be closely watched to assess the Congress’ performance in the BJP’s traditional stronghold of Manjalpur.

The constituency will also elect the successor to veteran BJP leader Yogesh Patel, who had represented the seat after winning eight consecutive Assembly elections over a political career spanning 36 years.