AHMEDABAD, March 30 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday fielded Harshad Parmar as its candidate for the Umreth assembly bypoll conducted due to the demise of his father, sitting MLA Govindbhai Parmar.

MLA Govindbhai Parmar died on March 6 after prolonged illness, leading to the vacancy in the state assembly

A four-time legislator, Govindbhai Parmar first entered the state assembly in 1995 as an independent lawmaker from Sarsa constituency in Anand district. He retained the seat in the 1998 elections on a Congress ticket. Govindbhai, however, lost subsequent elections and crossed over to the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Sarsa seat was merged into the Umreth seat. In 2012, the BJP fielded Govindbhai but he lost again. Govindbhai avenged...