Harshad Parmar takes oath as MLA after BJP retains Umreth seat in Gujarat bypoll

Gandhinagar, May 26 (IANS) Newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Harshad Parmar on Tuesday took oath as a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly after winning the recent by-election from the Umreth constituency in Anand district.

The oath was administered by Speaker Shankar Chaudhary at the Assembly complex in Gandhinagar.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Assembly Chief Whip Balkrishna Shukla, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rushikesh Patel, other members of the state cabinet and legislators.

Harshad Parmar was elected to the Assembly earlier this month after retaining the Umreth seat for the BJP in a bypoll necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Govind Parmar in March following illness.

The BJP fielded Harshad Parmar, son of the late legislator, in what was his first major electoral contest.

He defeated Congress candidate Bhrugurajsinh Chauhan by a margin of more than 30,000 votes, according to Election Commission data. Harshad Parmar secured 85,500 votes against Chauhan’s 54,757.

Parmar dedicated the victory to his late father and expressed gratitude to voters in the constituency for turning out in large numbers despite the intense summer heat.

Calling the result historic for a by-election, Parmar had said, "The support reflected the goodwill earned through my father’s work in the constituency over the years. People had backed me from the beginning, and I secured victory with their blessings and support by a substantial margin."

The bypoll to the Umreth Assembly constituency was held on April 23, with counting conducted on May 4.

The contest was among seven Assembly by-elections held across five states. The BJP retained the Umreth seat as part of a broader performance in the bypolls, winning four seats nationally.

Party sources noted that the BJP maintained a consistent lead throughout the counting process in Umreth.

Reports indicated that the party secured nearly 59 per cent of the vote in the constituency, which has increasingly consolidated in favour of the BJP since 2017.

The Assembly constituency forms part of the Anand district and the Anand Lok Sabha constituency. Harshad Parmar now succeeds his father as the constituency’s representative in the 182-member House.

--IANS

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