Cong leading in two seats in Rajasthan bypolls
Jaipur, Nov 2 (IANS) The Congress is leading in two seats -- Vallabhnagar and Dhariyawad -- where bypolls were held on October 30 as the seats fell vacant due to the demise of their MLAs.
In Vallabhnagar, 10 rounds of counting have been completed, while 13 more remain.
Preeti Gajendra Singh Shaktawat, wife of former Congress MLA Gajendra Singh Shaktawat from Vallabhnagar, is leading with 29,248 votes followed by RLP candidate Udailal Dangi with 29,170 votes. BJP candidate Himmat Singh Jhala is at the third position with 13,477 votes.
Counting for Vallabhnagar and Dhariyawad seats will finish in 23 and 24 rounds respectively.
In Dhariyawad, 18 rounds of counting are over, while six are pending.
After 18 rounds, Nagraj Meena from Congress is leading, leaving BJP's Khet Singh Meena trailing by a huge margin.
Congress' Nagraj fetched 57,238 votes, while BJP's Khet Singh could only garner around 37,338.
In Vallabhnagar, the Congress had cashed in on the emotional card and fielded former the MLA's wife Preeti. The BJP, on the other hand, experimented and gave a ticket to fresh candidate Jhala in Dhariyawad.
Also, the continuous tussle in the BJP between the leadership and former CM Vasundhara Raje reportedly dented the party prospects.
Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta is monitoring the counting process.