Congress candidate leading in Dantewada assembly bypoll count

The Congress candidate was leading by a margin of 2,778 votes in the Dantewada assembly bypoll where counting was taken up on Friday morning, officials said.

The counting of votes in the bypoll held on September 23 in the Naxal-affected seat began at 8 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.

Karma had secured 6,720 votes, while Mandavi got 3942 votes after initial rounds of counting, he added.

The ruling Congress and main opposition BJP are locked in a direct fight in this seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe, where bypoll was necessitated after the death of sitting BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi in a Maoist attack in April this year.