Kadi/Visavadar: Voting concluded peacefully on Thursday for the by-elections in the Visavadar and Kadi assembly constituencies. As per the Election Commission of India, Visavadar recorded a voter turnout of 57.80%, while Kadi saw 56.89% turnout. Although these are provisional numbers and are likely to rise.

The polling, which began at 7 AM and continued till 6 PM, was largely smooth, barring a minor scuffle between BJP and AAP workers in Viraval village, which was quickly brought under control by the police.

Both constituencies witnessed a triangular contest with candidates from the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party in the fray.

The bypoll in the Visavadar seat in Junagadh district was necessitated after AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and later joined the BJP. The ruling BJP has fielded Kirit Patel, while the Congress and AAP have nominated Nitin Ranpariya and Gopal Italia, respectively.

In Kadi, the seat became vacant following the demise of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki. BJP’s Rajendra Chavda, Congress’ Ramesh Chavda, and AAP’s Jagdish Chavda are contesting this Scheduled Caste (SC)-reserved seat.

With 294 booths set up in each constituency and a public holiday declared to encourage voter participation, the turnout remained consistent throughout the day. Counting of votes will take place on June 23. DeshGujarat