Voting under way for Manjalpur byelection in Gujarat

File photo for representational purposes only. | Photo Credit: C. Venkatachalapathy Voting began on Thursday (July 30, 2026) for the byelection to the Manjalpur Assembly seat in Gujarat’s Vadodara district, with polling being held to decide the fate of two candidates in the fray.Polling began at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m., while counting of votes will take place on August 3, according to the office of the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).The bypoll was necessitated by the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Yogesh Patel on June 2 after a prolonged illness.The ruling BJP has fielded former Vadodara Municipal Corporation councillor Satish Govindbhai Patel, while the Congress has nominated its Gujarat Vice-President and former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari.According to the CEO’s office, all administrative, security and technical arrangements have been completed to ensure free, fair and transparent polling.A total of 2.19 lakh citizens, including 1,11,645 men, 1,07,847 women and two third-gender voters, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll.Polling is being conducted at 260 polling stations set up across 62 locations, with each polling station catering to an average of 844 voters.The Election Commission has implemented several voter-friendly initiatives for the bypoll, including 100% webcasting at all polling stations, mobile deposit facilities for electronic gadgets, real-time poll monitoring and adherence to the prescribed voter limit at polling stations, said officials.The Manjalpur constituency had recorded a voter turnout of 60.15% in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections.Yogesh Patel, an eight-time BJP legislator, represented the Raopura Assembly constituency in Vadodara five times between 1990 and 2007 before shifting to the newly created Manjalpur seat after delimitation.He won the Manjalpur seat in 2012, 2017 and 2022, completing eight consecutive victories in the Gujarat Assembly over 36 years. Published - July 30, 2026 10:46 am IST