Chhattisgarh: Congress wins Khairagarh Assembly by-election, CM Bhupesh Baghel congratulates newly elected MLA

The ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh on Saturday won by-election to the Khairagarh Assembly constituency in Rajnandgaon district and maintained its winning streak in by-polls in the state, as per agency reports.

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The ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh on Saturday won by-election to the Khairagarh Assembly constituency in Rajnandgaon district and maintained its winning streak in by-polls in the state. Congress' Yashoda Verma won the election by a margin of 20,176 votes against her nearest rival Komal Janghel of the BJP, a poll official said. 

Verma got 87,879 votes while Janghel secured 67,703 votes, he said. Narendra Soni, the nominee of the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), could get only 1,222 votes, less than the NOTA (none of the above) option which bagged 2,616. By-election was held on April 12 following the death of incumbent JCC (J) MLA and former MP Devvrat Singh in November 2021. 

With the victory, the strength of Congress in the 90-member Assembly went up to 71. The opposition BJP suffered a fourth successive defeat at the hands of Congress in assembly bypolls held after the 2018 elections in the state. 

In 2018, Congress had swept the elections winning 68 out of 90 seats while the BJP won 15. The JCC (J) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested the poll in alliance and bagged five and two seats, respectively. In 2019, Congress won bypolls to Dantewada (won by the BJP in 2018) and Chitrakot assembly constituencies. 

The byelection to Chitrakot was necessitated after Congress MLA Dipak Baij was elected as MP. In 2020, Congress won Marwahi seat in the byelection after the death of former chief minister and sitting MLA Ajit Jogi. The current strength of the BJP in the state assembly is 14.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel congratulated Congress party candidate Yashoda Verma for winning the Khairagarh by-poll. In a tweet today, Baghel said, "The people of Khairagarh reaffirmed today that it is the Congress that does what it says. Congratulations to Yashoda Verma ji on being elected as the 71st Congress MLA in Chhattisgarh. This would not have been possible without the hard work of each and every one of our workers."

Further, in a veiled attack towards the Opposition in the state, the Chief Minister in a tweet today wrote, "Along with this, the people of Khairagarh gave a broad message and also told the merchants of hatred that the people of Chhattisgarh are peace loving. If you try to do hate business here, then the people of Chhattisgarh will not forgive."

Khairagarh assembly seat had fallen vacant following the death of JCC-J legislator Devvrat Singh, scion of the erstwhile royal family of Khairagarh. This news holds importance ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections that are slated to be held next year. (With agency inputs)