Chhattisgarh`s richest candidate retains Ambikapur seat

Raipur: Congress` richest candidate in Chhattisgarh Tribhuneshwar Sharan Singh Dev, who has declared his assets worth over Rs 560 crore, has retained Ambikapur constituency in Sarguja district of the state.

Scion of royal family of Sarguja, 61-year-old Dev, popular as TS Baba, defeated BJP`s Anurag Singh Deo by 19,558 votes. While Dev bagged 84,668 votes, his rival managed 65,100. In the 2008 Assembly polls, Dev had beaten Anurag by mere 948 votes. Meanwhile, Congress leader Ajit Jogi`s son and wife both have won in their respective constituencies. While Jogi`s son Amit defeated BJP`s Samira Paikra in Marwahi by 46,250 votes, his wife Renu won from Kota outnumbered BJP`s Kashiram Sahu by 5,089 votes. Amit got 82,909 votes while his mother Renu, who is also a sitting MLA, garnered 58,390 votes. Veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora`s son Arun managed 58,645 votes and defeated BJP`s Hemchand Yadav by 5,621 votes at the Durg constituency. Slain Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nand Kumar Patel`s son Umesh won at the Kharsia constituency beating BJP`s Jawaharlal Naik by 38,888 votes. Umesh secured 95,470 votes while his rival managed 56,582. Nand Kumar was killed in the Bastar Naxal attack in May when most of the state Congress` leaders had lost their lives. The ruling party also secured the Kawardha seat, home town of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh. BJP`s Ashok Sahu, who contested from Kawardha, defeated Congress Akbar Bhai by 2,558 votes. He bagged 93,645 votes. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has also won Rajnandgaon Assembly constituency defeating Congress` Alka Mudaliyar by 35,866 votes. While Singh got 86,797 votes, Alka, wife of slain Congress leader Uday Mudliar who died in the May Naxal attack in Bastar, managed 50,931 votes. n the 90-member Assembly, BJP won 49 seats, one less than what they had managed in 2008, while Congress got 39.