With counting still underway in Gujarat Assembly elections on Thursday, 8 December, former independent MLA and Congress candidate Jignesh Mevani retained his seat in Vadgam.
The leader managed to bag a total of 94,765 votes with a vote share 48 per cent.
The Dalit leader won by a margin of 4,922 votes, beating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manibhai Jethabhai Vaghela, who garnered 89,837 votes. AAP candidate Dalpat Bhatia had also contested the seat.
Why is this significant? The Vadgam constituency in the Banaskantha district is a seat reserved for people belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC), and holds a largely Dalit and Muslim population. The electorate also includes people belonging to the Thakor, Darbar, and Chaudhary communities.