Advertisement

The Congress Party wrested the Rajnandgaon seat from the ruling BJP in by-election to Lok Sabha from Chhattisgarh by a convincing margin of 51,614 votes.

After maintaining an early lead in the counting of votes, which began early on Sunday, the Congress candidate and sitting MLA Debvrat Singh gradually widened the winning gap over Leelaram Bhojwani, BJP candidate and former minister in an undivided Madhya Pradesh, as several rounds of counting progressed.

The result of the by-poll, which recorded around 60 per cent of voting on March 29, was officially declared on Sunday evening.

Accepting the defeat, the Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh blamed the 'cash-for-query' scandal that involved his party MP Pradeep Gandhi for the loss. Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha after his involvement in the scandal. "Voters' expression is a reaction to the Pradeep Gandhi factor," said Singh while talking to media persons at his official residence on Sunday. He ruled out the possibility of his resignation.

It may be noted that Rajnandgaon happens to be Singh's home constituency. He held the seat till December 2003, when he was chosen to head the BJP government after the party won the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh. He is presently representing Kawardha assembly seat, which also is a part of Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency.

The Congress leaders and workers on the other hand were jubilant and celebrated the Party's win bursting crackers. The Party spokespersons Ramesh Varlyani while talking to Hindustan Times said that besides the issue of Pradeep Gandhi, the voters were also disenchanted with the failure of the Raman Singh government on all fronts. "The ruling BJP has now paid for the rampant corruption, poor governance and deteriorating law and order situation prevailing in the state," Varlyani said.

Former chief minister and Lok Sabha member Ajit Jogi who led the electoral campaign in Rajnandgaon attributed his party victory to strong anti-BJP sentiments. "People are now yearning for Congress rule as the state government failed to live up to their expectations," Jogi asserted. 

"Besides the issue of Pradeep Gandhi, the BJP also lost the Rajnandgaon seat owing to anti-incumbency and the arrest of former chief minister Ajit Jogi during the election campaign," said Akhilesh Poddar, a political analyst. The BJP was holding the Rajnandgaon seat since 1999.

The by-election was necessitated when the apex court upheld a decision of the Parliament to disqualify 11 MPs, including BJP's Pradeep Gandhi from Rajnandgaon, for accepting cash to ask questions in the House.

E-mail author: ejaz.kaiser@hindustantimes.com