Parshottam Rupala all set to win from Rajkot LS seat in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: BJP leader and Union minister Parshottam Rupala has gained a comfortable lead of more than 4.65 lakh votes in Gujarat's Rajkot Lok Sabha seat over his nearest Congress rival Paresh Dhanani, officials said on Tuesday.

Rupala has so far received 8,22,362 votes, while Dhanani, a former Congress MLA, got 3,52,373 votes.

Ahead of the polls, the Kshatriya community, also known as Rajputs, held protests in different parts of Gujarat over Rupala's remarks about former rulers.

Though he had apologised for his remarks, some community leaders demanded that Rupala must be replaced with another candidate.

When the BJP refused to replace him, the community had intensified its stir and urged voters to defeat him.

In 2002, Dhanani defeated Rupala from Amreli assembly seat in the state.

Counting was underway for 25 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat since 8 am on Tuesday.

Polling was held for 25 out of 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state in a single phase on May 7.