Union Minister And BJP Candidate Mansukh Mandaviya Leads in Porbandar With 3.8 Lakh Margin (image-X/mansukhmandviya)

Union Minister of Health Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya is leading from Gujarat’s Porbandar Lok Sabha constituency with 6,25,962 votes. According to ECI data released at 3 pm, the lead margin of Mandaviya has reached to 3,80,285 votes against Congress’ Lalit Vasoya who has 2,45,677 votes so far.

Mansukh Mandaviya is contesting in the Lok Sabha for the first time. He has served as the Rajya Sabha MP since 2012 and Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers in the second term of PM Narendra Modi-led government. In 2013, along with tenure in Rajya Sabha, he has served as the state secretary of the BJP Gujarat unit and became the youngest general secretary of the saffron party in the state.

Congress candidate Lalit Vasoya was the member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly in 2017 from Dhoraji assembly seat in Rajkot district. In 2019, he was given a ticket by the party for Porbanadar Lok Sabha seat, but eventually lost to BJP’s Ramesh Dhaduk.

Mandaviya has contested from Porbandar parliamentary constituency, a BJP stronghold for several decades. The saffron party has won the seat for eight consecutive terms since 1991, except in 2009. Congress’s Radadiya Vitthalbhai Hansrajbhai won the seat in 2009 with a margin of 39,503 votes, later then changed to BJP in the very next elections.

Notably, NOTA has bagged more than ten thousand votes and stands in the fourth position. Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) NP Rathod has bagged 10,560 votes.

(This story is part of a Timeline internship project)