After a fierce rivalry in the initial rounds of counting in the Vav Assembly bypoll, the BJP secured a victory in Vav after 12 years.

While villages from Vav taluka dominated rounds 1 to 9, and villages from Suigam took the lead for Congress in rounds 10 to 15, the tide turned during rounds 19 to 23, where Bhabhar taluka’s vote count consistently favoured the BJP candidate Swaroop Thakor. Thakor won with a 2,442 vote margin defeating Congress’ Gulabsinh Rajput.

The BJP deployed its full strength to claim the stronghold of Congress MP Geniben Thakor, the sole Congress MP from the region. 

This victory marks BJP’s third win in the history of this seat. Throughout the counting, Congress’s lead seemed to grow after each round. However, in the last three rounds, the Congress candidate’s lead quickly dwindled. During the 14th round, Congress’s Rajput had a substantial lead of 14,102 votes.

Congress gained an initial advantage in the first round with a lead of 258 votes, which increased to 304 in the second round and 1,174 in the third round. However, post the 14th round, the Congress lead started to shrink. By the 17th round, it had dropped to 10,397 votes and further fell to 8,166 votes in the 18th round.

With the saffron party’s win, the number of BJP MLAs has increased to 162 and Congress being at only 12.

Mavji Patel caused damage to Congress

The independent candidate and BJP rebel Mavji Patel has garnered enough votes to change the equations of victory and defeat.

This constituency has an estimated 16.3% of Chaudhary-Patel community voters, and Patel has significantly altered the dynamics of victory and defeat. By rebelling against the BJP and contesting the election, Mavji Patel has undoubtedly harmed both the BJP and Congress.

Thakor vs Chaudhary caste factor played out!

The caste factor played a significant role in this election. Constructing caste equations proved beneficial for the BJP. The selection of Swaroop Thakor turned out to be correct.

Due to the Thakor candidate, the BJP’s equation proved to be as strong as an iron fist. Because of Geniben’s influence, the Thakor community's votes went to Congress, but the BJP also benefited.

Local issues ignored, only caste-based propaganda

In the Vav bypoll, issues like people's work, local problems, and the commitment to development were completely absent. Instead, the focus was on the candidate's face and caste-based election campaigning. Social accusations prevailed over discussions about development and local issues.

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Vav Assembly bypoll: BJP's Swaroop Thakor secures Vav, beats Gulabsinh Rajput