By IANS
Raipur : Chhattisgarh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) established an early 10,000 vote lead over the Congress as counting got underway Thursday for the assembly by-poll in Keshkal constituency.
BJP’s Sevakram Netam was leading by 10,000 votes over the Congress’ Budhsan Markam after four rounds of counting for the elections held Monday.
The by-election was necessitated after the death of BJP legislator Mahesh Baghel in a car accident in August last year. The seat is reserved for a Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate.
Besides the state’s ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress candidates, three independents are also in the fray, one of them backed by the Shiv Sena.
Keshkal is a Maoist stronghold in Bastar district. The counting began at 8 a.m. at the district headquarters Jagdalpur. About 62 percent of 146,796 voters had exercised their franchise.