4-way fight in Gadek, Bersatu drops out from race

Bersatu has dropped out of the race for the Gadek seat in the Melaka state election, with the party not nominating anyone to contest despite announcing a candidate previously.

There will be a four-cornered contest for the seat involving Barisan Nasional’s S Nadarajah, Jegasilan K (Pakatan Harapan), B Laveen (Bersama) and Laila Norinda Maon (Putra).

On Thursday, Bersatu had announced Zamri Abu Bakar as its candidate for the seat.

Gadek is a mixed seat with Malay voters making up 60% of the electorate, followed by Chinese (20%) and Indians (17%).

The state constituency has traditionally been held by BN since its creation in 2004, although PH took the seat in the 2018 polls.

BN managed to regain Gadek in the November 2021 state election through MIC’s VP Shanmugam, who won with a 559-vote majority in a six-cornered fight that year.