Congress candidate Dr KK Dhruw has won in the Marwahi assembly bypoll results in Chhattisgarh with a lead of 38,197 votes. According to the updated data by the Election Commission, Dhruw has registered over 83,561 votes compared to over 45,364 in favour of BJP's Gambheer Singh. The counting began at 8am amid tight security and Covid-19 protocols in place. The tribal-dominated Marwahi seat is witnessing a straight fight between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP. The bypoll for the Scheduled Tribes (ST)-reserved constituency was necessitated following the death of sitting JCC (J) legislator and former chief minister Ajit Jogi on May 29.
Election Commission Latest Update:
Here are the Main Issues in the Fray:
JOGI FAMILY OUSTED
The seat, a bastion of the Jogi family for several years now, is witnessing a fight between the Congress and the BJP after the nomination papers of Amit Jogi, the son of Ajit Jogi, and his wife Richa were rejected by the returning officer, who said their caste certificates were invalid.
1,90,907 WERE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE
A total of 1,90,907 voters, comprising 93,694 males, 97,209 females and four from the third gender, were announced eligible to vote. As many as 286 polling stations had been set up, of which 126 were categorised as sensitive.
MAIN FIGHT BETWEEN KK DHRUW, GAMBHEER SINGH
Around 1,400 security personnel were deployed for the bypoll. Though eight candidates are in the fray, the main fight is between Congress nominee K K Dhruw, a former medical officer from the area, and BJP's Gambheer Singh, an ex- professor of the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College, Raipur. The strength of the Chhattisgarh Assembly is 90. The other candidates in the fray are Ritu Pandram of the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), Dr Urmila Singh Marko of the Rashtriya Gondwana Party, Pushpa Khelan Korche of the Ambedkarite Party of India, Beersingh Nagesh of the Bharatiya Tribal Party, Lakshman Porte of the Bharatiya Sarvajan Hitay Samaj Party and independent Sonmati Salam.
2018 RESULT
In the 2018 Assembly polls, Ajit Jogi had polled 74,041 votes in Marwahi, beating the BJP's Archana Porte by a margin of 46,462 votes, with the Congress coming third.