Gujarat bypolls: Alpesh Thakor trailing; Congress, BJP lead in 3 seats each

Thakor's aide Dhavalsinh Zala is trailing from Bayad

38-Alpesh-Thakor Alpesh Thakor | Janak Patel

Former Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, who defected to the BJP, is trailing from Radhanpur seat in Gujarat, according to early reports. At the same time, early trends indicate that the Congress and BJP are leading in three assembly constituencies each in Gujarat. 

In Radhanpur (Patan district), Thakor is trailing behind Congress' Raghu Desai by 3,000 votes. In Bayad (Arvalli), Thakor aide and BJP candidate Dhavalsinh Zala is trailing behind Congress' Jasu Patel by over 6,600 votes. In Amraiwadi seat of Ahmedabad, Congress' Dharmendra Patel leading over BJP's Jagdish Patel by more than 200 votes.

Byelections were necessitated in Radhanpur and Bayad after their respective sitting Congress MLAs Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala joined the ruling BJP. 

Besides, bypolls were held in Tharad, Lunawada, Kheralu and Amraiwadi after the sitting BJP MLAs got elected to the Lok Sabha. Four of these six seats were won by the BJP in the 2017 Assembly polls, and the rest two by the Congress.

Apart from Thakor and Zala, the BJP fielded Jivrajbhai Patel in Tharad, Jignesh Sevak in Lunawada, Ajmalbhai Thakor in Kheralu and Jagdish Patel in Amraiwadi.

The Congress contestants were Gulabsinh Rajput (Tharad), Raghubhai Desai (Radhanpur), Babuji Thakor (Kheralu), Jasubhai Patel (Bayad), Dharmendra Patel (Amraiwadi) and Gulabsinh Chauhan (Lunawada).