BJP candidate and five-time legislator Kantilal Amrutya won from Gujarat's Morbi constituency, the ceramic town that made headlines in October following the collapse of the ancient bridge that claimed over 140 lives subjecting the ruling BJP to severe criticism.
Amrutya defeated Congress's Jayanti Patel in Morbi where the British-era bridge collapsed on October 30.
The assembly constituencies in Morbi include Morbi, Tankara, and Wankaner.
The bridge tragedy at Morbi town left over 140 people including children dead and left the nation shocked and overwhelmed. The deaths occurred due to the collapse of the suspension bridge that had recently been opened for public use. Among those killed were 12 relatives of Lok Sabha members from Rajkot Mohan Kundariya.
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Following the tragedy, the Congress alleged that the incident highlighted something which was a degraded form of cronyism in which precedence was given to sheer profiteering, everything else was compromised and people's lives were sacrificed.
The bridge had been reopened to the public on October 26, just five days back, after six months of extensive repairs and renovation. The renovation project cost Rs 2 crore. The bridge was reopened after a private inaugural event and was yet to receive the municipality's "fitness certificate," a civic official said.
Counting of the votes began in the 182-assembly Gujarat at 8:30 am. According to the early trends as of 10:15 am, the BJP has been leading in 123 seats, Congress in 22 and AAP in 10.
