Chhattisgarh: BJP pips Cong to bag Mayor post in Birgaon civic poll

Raipur: The BJP on Thursday won the post of Mayor in the newly-formed Birgaon Municipal Corporation in Chhattisgarh pipping its nearest rival Congress.

However, the main opposition Congress in the state has put up a good show in contest for corporators, clinching 20 out of 40 wards of the corporation followed by the BJP who managed to bag 13 while independent candidates emerged victors in rest of the seven.

"BJP's nominee Ambika Yadu has won the Mayor post of Birgaon Municipal Corporation by a margin of 5,202 votes against Congress' Sunita Vedprakash Dewangan," a state election official told PTI.

Yadu has received 22,135 votes followed by Dewangan in the second position of the tally with 16,933 votes, he added.

Besides, out of 40 wards, 20 were won by Congress, 13 by BJP and 7 by independent candidates, he added.

The polling for a single municipal corporation in the state was held on November 16 in which about 65 per cent of the 78,707 voters had exercised their franchise.

The victory comes as a relief for the BJP who had suffered a setback in the urban body election for 10 municipal corporations held in 2014-15.

Congress had won four out of 10 corporations while the ruling BJP reduced to four, two less than from last time in that election.

Besides,rest of the two seats were won by independent candidates.