MP: BJP’s Kamlesh Shah defeats Cong challenger in Amarwara assembly seat bypoll
Shah polled 83,105 votes after 21 rounds while Invati garnered 80,078 votes, a poll official said.
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CHHINDWARA: BJP’s Kamlesh Shah on Saturday won the bypoll to Amarwara (ST) assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh by a margin of 3,027 votes, defeating his nearest Congress rival Dheeran Shah Invati in a close contest after 21 rounds of counting.
Shah polled 83,105 votes after 21 rounds while Invati garnered 80,078 votes, a poll official said.
Amarwara (ST) assembly segment is part of the Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency, the erstwhile stronghold of Congress leader Kamal Nath, which BJP wrested from his son Nakul Nath in recent Lok Sabha elections.
Devraman Bhalavi of the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) finished third by bagging 28,638 votes after counting which was supposed to be concluded after 20 rounds to the 21st.
The poll official said 478 votes were counted with the help of the Voter Verification Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in the 21st round at a booth after an EVM malfunctioned.
Interestingly, Invati gave some anxious moments to the BJP initially as he established a lead over Shah till the conclusion of the 17th round. Still, the BJP candidate turned the tables on Shah in the last three rounds.
Notably, Shah is a Congress turncoat who joined the BJP on March 29, necessitating the bypoll. Before the cross-over, he had represented the Amarwara constituency three times.
With the latest victory, the BJP has won this constituency four times in 1972, 1990, 2008 and 2024 while Congress had represented it nine times. In 2003, the GGP won this seat.
The byelection to this constituency was a prestige battle for the ruling BJP and opposition Congress as Chhindwara district was considered a stronghold of Kamal Nath until recently.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu wrested the Chhindwara constituency by trouncing Nath's son and sitting MP Nakul Nath.
With the bypoll victory, the number of BJP MLAs in the 230-member MP assembly has increased to 163. The Congress has 63 MLAs and Bharat Adivasi Party one, while three seats are vacant.