By IANS
Bhopal : The Congress Tuesday won its first assembly by-election in three years of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) rule in Madhya Pradesh.
Virendra Raguvanshi won the Shivpuri assembly seat by defeating BJP's Ganesh Gautam by 7,781 votes, official sources said. An official announcement is expected to be made soon.
Former chief minister Uma Bharati's Bharatiya Jan Shakti (BJS) came third securing 10,000 votes. A total of 15 candidates were in the fray for the election held Saturday.
The by-poll was necessitated following the resignation of then tourism minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia of BJP after her election to the Lok Sabha from Gwalior constituency.
The Congress has termed the win as a vote against the non-performance of the state government and said the people were fed up with BJP rule.
"Three years of BJP misrule has brought total anarchy in the state. The people have lost patience and want to get rid of the present rule," said Congress spokesperson Brijmohan Shrivastava.
The BJP, however, refused to accept it as a mandate against the government.
"The result of one by-election should not be taken as a vote against the government. There were several factors including the Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan that affected the result," said party spokesperson Uma Shankar Gupta.