Maharashtra LS bypolls: NCP wins Bhandara-Gondiya (Lead)
Thursday - May 31, 2018 6:10 pm ,
Category : INDIA
Maharashtra LS bypolls: NCP wins Bhandara-Gondiya (Lead)
Nagpur May 31 (IANS) Making a spectacular comeback the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday bagged the prestigious Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha seat snatching it from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party by a convincing margin of over 54 000 votes.
The NCP s Madhukar Kukde secured around 376 000 votes compared to his nearest BJP rival Hemant Patle who got around 322 000 votes.
Earlier in the day Patle - who had defected from Shiv Sena on poll eve to the BJP and was rewarded with the ticket - was leading in several rounds but by noon Kukde surged ahead in the vote-count.
NCP senior leader Ajit Pawar termed the victory "an outcome of the joint efforts with the Congress" which did not put up a candidate in Bhandara-Gondiya and supported Kukde.
The May 28 bypolls necessitated by the resignation of sitting BJP member Nana Patole who subsequently joined the Congress were marred by large-scale incidents of malfunctioning EVM-VVPATs with all the opposition parties and ruling ally Shiv Sena hurling allegations of foul play and tampering of the machines.
On Tuesday the EC ordered a repoll in 49 polling stations across five Assembly segments in Bhandara-Gondiya besides shunting out the Gondiya District Collector.
--IANS qn/him/vd
The NCP s Madhukar Kukde secured around 376 000 votes compared to his nearest BJP rival Hemant Patle who got around 322 000 votes.
Earlier in the day Patle - who had defected from Shiv Sena on poll eve to the BJP and was rewarded with the ticket - was leading in several rounds but by noon Kukde surged ahead in the vote-count.
NCP senior leader Ajit Pawar termed the victory "an outcome of the joint efforts with the Congress" which did not put up a candidate in Bhandara-Gondiya and supported Kukde.
The May 28 bypolls necessitated by the resignation of sitting BJP member Nana Patole who subsequently joined the Congress were marred by large-scale incidents of malfunctioning EVM-VVPATs with all the opposition parties and ruling ally Shiv Sena hurling allegations of foul play and tampering of the machines.
On Tuesday the EC ordered a repoll in 49 polling stations across five Assembly segments in Bhandara-Gondiya besides shunting out the Gondiya District Collector.
--IANS qn/him/vd
