Counting of votes is underway in the Chitrakoot Assembly bypoll in Madhya Pradesh where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are locked in a closed contest.
Congress candidate Nilanshu Chaturvedi is leading over BJP’s Shankar Dayal Tripathi by more than 18,000 after ninth round of counting. As per latest reports, the Congress candidate is leading by 17,298 votes after 11th round of counting. After 15th round of counting, Nilanshu Chaturvedi is ahead of the BJP candidate by 16,824 votes.
The Chitrakoot Assembly seat fell vacant after Congress MLA Prem Singh, who had won the seat three times, died in May this year. Singh had won the Chitrakoot Assembly seat in 1998, 2003 and 2013, losing to BJP’s Surendra Singh Gaharwar in 2008.
With the Assembly election in Madhya Pradesh likely to take place in November next year, the results of the Chitrakoot bypoll hold significance for both the BJP and the Congress.
Voting for the Chitrakoot Assembly bypoll took place on November 9 with the constituency recording almost 65 per cent voter turnout.
As many as 257 polling booths with VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) machines were set up for the bypoll, said an Election Commission official.
Congress MP from Guna Jyotiraditya Scindia, former Union Minister Kamal Nath, Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Assembly Ajay Singh campaigned for Nilanshu Chaturvedi.
