The Bharatiya Janata Party won its 100th seat in the Gujarat Assembly after party candidate Kunvarji Bavaliya defeated Congress’s Avsar Nakiya by a margin of 19,979 votes in the bye-election for Jasdan seat, ANI reported. Bavalia’s exit from the Congress in July had necessitated the bye-election, results for which were declared on Sunday.
The BJP had won 99 constituencies and the Congress 77 in the elections held last year.
Meanwhile, the Congress won in Jharkhand’s Kolebira constituency, reports said. The seat was vacated after Jharkhand Party MLA Enos Ekka lost his membership upon his conviction in a murder case in July. His wife Menan Ekka contested the election on a Jharkhand Party ticket. Basant Soreng was the BJP’s nominee, and the Congress candidate was Bixel Kongadi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Jasdan residents following the BJP’s victory. “I thank the people of Jasdan for blessing the BJP and supporting the party’s development agenda,” he tweeted. “Congratulations to Kunvarjibhai Bavaliya for the victory.”
The Jharkhand unit of the Congress congratulated the people of Kolebira and said the victory is the result of the hard work of the party workers.
Both elections were held on December 20 more than a week after the BJP lost Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer S Murali Krishna said that a voter turnout of 71.27% was recorded in Jasdan, which has 2.32 lakh registered voters.
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