Raipur: Chhattisgarh's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday won the Sanjari Balod assembly seat defeating the Congress after 14 rounds of counting.
BJP's Kumari Bai Sahu defeated her nearest rival Mohan Patel of Congress by nearly 9,500 votes. A total of 15 candidates were in the fray for the election held on Feb 14.
The by-election was necessitated as Sahu's husband, BJP legislator Madanlal Sahu, died following cardiac arrest in August last year.
With the Sajari Balod victory, the tally of the BJP in the 90-member state assembly has risen to 49, the opposition Congress has 39 members and the Bahujan Samaj Party two.
IANS
First Published: Thursday, February 17, 2011, 12:20