Raipur: In the Raipur City South bypoll, BJP candidate Sunil Kumar Soni is holding a commanding lead of 20,629 votes over Congress contender Akash Sharma. This result comes after the completion of 10 rounds of vote counting, according to officials on Saturday.
The counting process, which started at 8 AM, took place at the Government Engineering College in Sejbahar under strict security arrangements. The by-election was held after Brijmohan Agrawal, a sitting BJP MLA and former state minister, vacated the seat following his successful election to the Lok Sabha from the Raipur constituency.
"At the end of the 10th counting round, Soni of the BJP had a lead of 20,629 votes against Congress’s Akash Sharma. So far, Soni has received 42,667 votes, while Sharma has garnered 22,038," said an election official.
The bypoll voting was conducted on November 13, with voter turnout reaching 50.50%. While there were 30 candidates on the ballot, the main contest was clearly between the BJP and Congress.
The Raipur City South seat has long been a stronghold for the BJP. In the 2023 assembly elections, BJP's Brijmohan Agrawal won a resounding victory with 1,09,263 votes, securing a record margin of 67,719 votes.
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