Ahmedabad, April 3 The Congress announced Bhrugurajsinh Chauhan as its candidate for the April 23 by-election to the Umreth assembly constituency in Gujarat's Anand district.
He will be contesting against BJP's Harshad Parmar, the son of MLA Govind Parmar, who died on March 6 after a brief illness, necessitating the by-election.
Interestingly, both the Congress and BJP have fielded candidates who have not previously contested an assembly election.
Chauhan's candidature has been approved by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, according to a statement issued by the All India Congress Committee.
Chauhan (62) is an experienced local leader, but a first-time contestant in an assembly election, said Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.
He served as the president of the Umreth taluka panchayat for three consecutive terms between 2000 and 2015, and is currently the Gujarat Congress coordinator for the central zone.
Late Govind Parmar was a four-time MLA who won the Umreth seat in the 2022 state elections by defeating NCP's Jayant Patel, also known as Boski, by a margin of more than 25,000 votes.
