Anand, April 4 (AHN) The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate for the Umreth Assembly by-election, Harshad Parmar, filed his nomination on Saturday in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

The nomination was filed after a large public meeting in Umreth addressed by Patel, followed by a rally involving party workers and supporters, during which the Chief Minister greeted citizens.

In his address, Patel paid tribute to former MLA Govind Parmar, whose death necessitated the by-election, and said his “affectionate nature, humility and long political career of public service will always be remembered not only by this region but by the entire Gujarat”.

He described the loss as significant and said the BJP had entrusted Harshad Parmar with the responsibility of continuing the work carried out by the late leader and his father, who had reached out to people at all levels.

Highlighting the party’s leadership at the national level, Patel said, “Amid global instability caused by wars, the peace and stability prevailing in India are rooted in the strong and reliable leadership of the Prime Minister.”

He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “defined a new paradigm of development by caring for the last and the smallest person” and said that “public trust in BJP is strengthening day by day, based on the firm and visionary leadership” of the Prime Minister.

Patel also assured that development works initiated in the Umreth constituency, as well as those under planning, would be completed on priority by the state government.

He appealed to voters to participate in large numbers on polling day and “ensure a massive victory for the BJP candidate to further accelerate the journey of development”.

Several state ministers, MPs, MLAs and party office-bearers were present at the event, along with a large number of citizens.

The Umreth by-election in Anand district is scheduled for April 23 and was necessitated by the death of Govind Parmar, a four-term MLA who passed away on March 6 after a brief illness.

The BJP has nominated his son, Harshad Parmar, who has previously held local organisational roles, while the Congress has fielded Bhrugurajsinh Chauhan.

The constituency, one of Gujarat’s 182 Assembly seats, has been held by the BJP since 2017 and remains politically significant in central Gujarat.