Chhattisgarh bypoll: BJP's Soni leading by 20,629 votes in Raipur City South seat

Raipur: BJP candidate Sunil Kumar Soni was leading by 20,629 votes over his Congress rival Akash Sharma in the Raipur City South assembly by-poll after the 10th round of counting of votes, officials said on Saturday.

The counting of votes began at 8 am at the Government Engineering College Sejbahar here amid tight security.

The by-poll was necessitated after sitting BJP legislator and former state minister Brijmohan Agrawal resigned following his election to Lok Sabha from Raipur parliamentary constituency.

"After the 10th round of counting, BJP's Soni was leading by a margin of 20,629 votes against Congress candidate Sharma. Soni has secured 42,667 votes so far, while Sharma has received 22,038 votes after the 10th round of counting," an official said.

Voting for the bypoll took place on November 13 and the turnout was recorded at 50.50 per cent.

There were 30 contestants in the fray, though the main fight was between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

In the 2023 assembly polls, BJP's Agrawal had secured 1,09,263 votes and won with a record margin of 67,719 votes.

The seat is considered a Bharatiya Janata Party bastion.