Congress leads Jharkhand's Lohardaga assembly by-election; 67% electorate heads out to vote

Ranchi: The Congress led in the vote count on Thursday for Jharkhand’s Lohardaga assembly by-election. After eight out of a total 20 rounds, Congress candidate Sukhdeo Bhagat secured 27,824 votes and BJP-backed All Jharkhand Students Union’s (AJSU) candidate Niru Bhagat got 19,672 votes. Sixty seven percent of 2.20 lakh electorate voted on 14 December in the Lohardaga assembly by-election to fill up a seat that fell vacant after AJSU legislator Kamla Kishore Bhagat was convicted and handed over a seven-year jail term in July in an extortion case. [caption id=“attachment_2549232” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. PTI[/caption] There were nine candidates. The three main candidates were Niru Bhagat, wife of the jailed legislator, Sukhdeo Bhagat and Bandhu Tirkey of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P). The seat is reserved for tribals. IANS