Cong retains seat, defeats BJP by over 14,000 votes

Bhopal: The Congress on Sunday retained the Chitrakoot Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh with its candidate winning the seat in a bypoll with an improved margin of over 14,000 votes.

In the 2013 Assembly polls, the party had won the seat with a margin of 10,970 votes.

Congress' Nilanshu Chaturvedi defeated his nearest rival, Shankar Dayal Tripathi of the BJP, by 14,133 votes in the bypoll which was held on November 9, returning officer A P Dwivedi said.

Chaturvedi polled 66,810 votes, while Tripathi had to be content with 52,677 votes. As many as 2,455 votes were polled under the 'none of the above' (NOTA) category.

The counting of votes began at around 8 am amid a tight security in Satna district, around 400 km from here.

Around 65 per cent voting was recorded in the bypoll, which was necessitated in the Assembly segment following the death of its Congress MLA Prem Singh (65).

Singh had won from Chitrakoot, bordering Uttar Pradesh, in the 1998, 2003 and 2013 state Assembly polls. In 2008, he had lost the seat to BJP's Surendra Singh Gaharwar. Though 12 candidates were in the fray, the main contest in the bypoll was between Chaturvedi and Tripathi. Accepting the defeat, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted saying public mandate was supreme in democracy.

"I thank the people for their support. Nothing will come in the way of Chitrakoot's development. My aim is to develop entire Madhya Pradesh," the tweet further read.

Congress workers celebrated the victory by bursting crackers outside the party's state headquarters, Indira Bhawan in Bhopal, whereas the state BJP headquarters, Deendayal Parishad, wore a deserted look. As per the Hindu mythology, during his exile, Lord Rama had spent almost 12 years in the forests of Chitrakoot with wife Sita and brother Laxmana.

The BJP had invoked Lord Rama during its campaign for the bypoll. After the bypoll victory on Sunday, the jubilant Congress workers raised slogans such as "BJP ke lag gaye kam, jai shri Ram, jai shri Ram (the BJP is defeated, hail Lord Rama)". Asked about the saffron party invoking Lord Rama in the run-up to the bypoll, state Congress chief Arun Yadav told reporters that it was his partymen, who were the true worshippers of the Hindu god. "Lord Rama helps the honest and upright, not the corrupt," he said.

New Delhi: The Congress's victory in the Chitrakoot Assembly bypoll in Madhya Pradesh signals the "winds of change" blowing in the political landscape in the country, its chief spokesperson said on Sunday. Taking to Twitter, Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala thanked the voters for reposing faith in the party.

"The winds of change are in the air. Many thanks to the people of #Chitrakoot for their faith and trust in the Congress party," Surjewala said.

Congress candidate Nilanshu Chaturvedi defeated the ruling BJP's Shankar Dayal Tripathi by a margin of over 14,000 votes on Sunday.

Chaturvedi polled 66,810 votes as against Tripathi's 52,677 votes, returning officer A P Dwivedi said.

Around 65 per cent voting was recorded in the November 9 bypoll, necessitated following the death of sitting Congress MLA Prem Singh (65).