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Vadodara election shock: Congress loses bastion in Ward 1 as rebel, BJP candidates script upset

The Vadodara unit of the Congress had fielded three women from Ward 1, dropping Harish Patel. The move failed to pay off as Patel contested as an Independent and won.

2 min readUpdated: Apr 28, 2026 03:13 PM IST

The Congress’s decision not to give Harish Patel a ticket had seen several party workers drift away to join him in his election campaign. (Express Photo)

The Congress on Tuesday suffered a major upset in its party bastion, Ward 1 of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, by losing three of four seats to the BJP and a rebel party candidate. It had won the full panel in 2021.

While Bhursinh Rathwa—a last-minute candidate—and Kundan Tailor won for the BJP, former Congress corporator Harish Patel won as an Independent candidate.

In a surprise move, the Vadodara unit of the Congress had fielded three women from Ward 1, dropping Harish. While four-term corporator Pushpa Vaghela stood from the general women’s seat, two-term corporator Ami Ravat was fielded from the general seat, and Sona Jaha Desai, wife of corporator Jaha Desai, stood from the reserved OBC women’s seat. Nikul Patel was fielded from the reserved ST seat. Among the four, only Vaghela won, retaining her seat for a fifth consecutive term.

Also Read | In Vadodara, Congress’s Vishwamitri poll pitch is a trickle in BJP campaign

For the BJP, winning two seats in Ward 1 will be seen as a major victory. Rathwa, who won from the reserved ST category seat, was fielded at the last minute on the last day of filing nominations on April 11, when the original candidate Raag Machhar’s name was found missing from the electoral rolls of the local body polls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Tailor won from the OBC women’s reserved seat.

The Congress’s decision not to give Harish a ticket had seen several Congress workers drift away from the party to join him in his election campaign. Harish, known to be a close aide of BJP Viramgam MLA Hardik Patel, had expressed his “displeasure” and blamed the party brass for “handing out tickets to undeserving candidates”.

Aditi Raja

Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues. Expertise: Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including: Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground. Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure. Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case). Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions. Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More

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