BJP candidate Satish (Satendrabhai) Patel wins the Manjalpur by-election in Gujarat, defeating Congress nominee Bhikhabhai Rabari by a margin of over 30,000 votes. Counting runs through multiple rounds, with Patel building an early lead and then widening the gap as results are declared. The by-election is held following the death of senior BJP MLA Yogesh Patel and is watched as a political indicator, even though it does not change the BJP’s overall majority in the Gujarat Assembly. According to one outlet, after Patel’s win the BJP’s tally in the Assembly stands at 162 members, while Congress holds 12 seats. Another report notes that Patel is leading by more than 27,400 votes after nine counting rounds before the final declaration. The sources broadly agree on the winner, the opponent, the reason for the election, and the decisive size of the victory margin.