AHMEDABAD: Harshad Parmar, the newly elected BJP MLA from Umreth, on Tuesday took oath as a legislator before Gujarat assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, ministers and several legislators were present for the ceremony held at the Assembly complex in Gandhinagar, said an official release.

Parmar won a byelection to Umreth seat in Anand district on April 23, defeating Congress's Bhrugurajsinh Chauhan by more than 30,000 votes. The BJP leader secured 85,500 votes against Chauhan's 54,757.

The by-election, the first major electoral contest for Harshad Parmar, was necessitated by the death of his father and sitting BJP MLA Govind Parmar due to a heart attack on March 6.