Dantewada Bypoll Result Today to be declared today; Congress Leads BJP in latest count

DANTEWADA, CHHATTISGARH: The by-election result for Chhattisgarh's Dantewada will be declared today. The counting of votes for the Dantewada by-election began this morning and the Congress candidate is leading by a margin of 2,778 votes. The by-election is for the Dantewada Assembly seat.

The counting of votes for the Dantewada by-election, held on September 23 in the Maoist-affected assembly seat, began at 8 today at the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) campus in Dantewada district headquarters, a poll official said.

As per the early trends, Devti Karma of the Congress was leading by a margin of 2,778 votes against her nearest rival Ojaswi Mandavi of the BJP, he said.

Ms Karma secured 6,720 votes, while Mandavi got 3942 votes after initial rounds of counting in the Dantewada by-election, he added.

The ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh and main opposition BJP are locked in a direct fight for this assembly constituency. The Dantewada Assembly seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates only. The by-election in Dantewada was necessitated after the death of sitting BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi in a Maoist attack in April this year.