BJP retains Chhattisgarh assembly seat, Congress admits setback (Lead)
February 17th, 2011 - 2:33 pm ICT by IANS
Raipur, Feb 17 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday won the Sanjari Balod assembly seat in Chhattisgarh Thursday, prompting celebrations at the ruling party’s headquarters while the opposition Congress admitted that the result was a setback. BJP’s candidate Kumari Bai Sahu defeated her nearest rival Mohan Patel of the Congress by nearly 9,500 votes. A total of 15 candidates were in the fray but 13 of them lost deposits. The elections were held Feb 14.
The by-election for Sanjari Balod, in Durg district, was necessitated after Sahu’s husband Madanlal Sahu, who belonged to the BJP, died following cardiac arrest in August last year.
With the victory, the tally of the BJP in the 90-member state assembly has risen to 49 while the opposition Congress has 39 members and the Bahujan Samaj Party two.
The Congress’ Mohan Patel had lost the Sanjari-Balod seat by just a few hundred votes in November 2008 to Madanlal Sahu and the Congress, expecting an easy win, bet on him again.
The result has stunned the party leaders.
“It’s a setback, I accept the peoples’ verdict in Sanjari Balod. The party will very soon conduct a comprehensive review on where we went wrong,” Dhanendra Sahu, state Congress president, told reporters.
The BJP was jubilant. Supporters burst firecrackers at the party headquarters here as the victory, after 14 rounds of counting, was flashed by local TV channels.
“It’s a victory of development works and the peoples’ approval to the state government’s policies,” said Chief Minister Raman Singh.
- Polling underway for Chhattisgarh assembly seat - Feb 14, 2011
- 30 percent polling in Chhattisgarh by-election (Lead) - Feb 14, 2011
- 65-70 percent turnout in Chhattisgarh by-poll (Second Lead) - Feb 14, 2011
- BJP faces tough fight in Chhattisgarh by-poll - Feb 05, 2011
- BJP wins by-election in Chhattisgarh - Feb 17, 2011
- Factionalism widens in Chhattisgarh Congress after bypoll loss - Feb 19, 2011
- BJP finds it tough choosing Chhattisgarh by-poll candidate - Jan 17, 2011
- Chhattisgarh assembly by-poll next month - Jan 12, 2011
- Chhattisgarh ministers violated poll code: Congress - Jan 22, 2011
- Hectic lobbying on for new Chhattisgarh Congress chief - Mar 21, 2011
- BJP, Congress claim victory ahead of Chhattisgarh by-poll results - Oct 03, 2010
- BJP defeats Congress in Chhattisgarh by-poll (Lead) - Oct 04, 2010
- Chhattisgarh legislator dies of heart attack - Aug 22, 2010
- Bypoll in Chhhattisgarh begins on dull note - Oct 01, 2010
- Nearly 70 percent polling in Chhattisgarh assembly by-poll (Lead) - Oct 01, 2010
Tags: assembly seat, bahujan samaj party, bharatiya janata party, cardiac arrest, chief minister, congress president, firecrackers, jubilant supporters, local tv channels, member state, mohan, opposition congress, party headquarters, party leaders, ruling party, sahu, sanjari, setback, state assembly, state congress