AHMEDABAD: The BJP’s sweeping victory in the 2022 Gujarat assembly elections, bagging 156 seats, was a testament to its dominance — yet Visavadar in Saurashtra has stubbornly resisted the saffron surge for 18 long years. In the upcoming bypoll on June 19, the party is pulling out all the stops to break this nearly two-decade-long jinx and finally wrest control of this elusive seat.
Despite the BJP’s statewide sweep, Visavadar remained a glaring exception, with the Aam Aadmi Party’s Bhupat Bhayani shocking the political establishment by clinching the seat amid the saffron wave. The plot thickened when Bhayani abruptly resigned from the AAP and his MLA post in 2023 to join the BJP, stirring legal battles that momentarily stalled the byelection. However, once the petitions were withdrawn, the path was cleared for a high-voltage electoral showdown in a constituency that has slipped through the BJP’s fingers repeatedly. Undeterred, the AAP swiftly declared former Gujarat unit chief Gopal Italia as its candidate, signaling the party’s determination to reclaim lost ground and turn Visavadar into a symbolic turf war against the BJP’s hegemony.
The BJP responded decisively, fielding Patidar strongman Kirit Patel to counter the AAP’s challenge, while the Congress threw its weight behind grassroots veteran Nitin Ranpariya, a 46-year-old with deep organizational experience. This has turned Visavadar into a battleground where community influence, leadership stature, and party loyalty collide relentlessly.
The seat’s electoral history underscores its volatility — since 2007, Visavadar voters have swung between opposition parties, denying the BJP a foothold. The BJP last tasted victory here in 2007 with Kanubhai Bhalala -- since then, the constituency has been a revolving door: Congress’s Harshad Ribadia triumphed twice (2014 bypoll, 2017), while GPP founder and former CM Keshubhai Patel upset the Congress in 2012 before merging his party with the BJP — yet the saffron party failed to seal the seat outright.
This bypoll has seen the BJP ramping up its campaign with renewed vigour, sidelining defectors like Ribadia and Bhayani despite their recent switches to the party, instead backing fresh faces to signal a new chapter. BJP state chief and Union Minister CR Patil is leading an aggressive campaign, while AAP heavyweight Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s active involvement indicates the high stakes at play.
Despite the BJP’s overwhelming dominance across Gujarat, Visavadar remains a political bastion which it has been unable to breach. Although the BJP doesn't need to win the seat, it's a prestige issue for the party and also serves as an opportunity for the AAP and Congress to reshape the political narrative in their favour, making it a crucial battlefield.