BJP's Kamlesh Shah wins MP's Amarwara bypoll

Bhopal: In a high voltage electoral contest in Madhya Pradesh's Amarwara byelection, the ruling BJP won the bypoll with a margin of 3,552 votes. The result was announced on Saturday.

BJP's Kamalesh Shah received 83,036 votes against Congress' Dheeran Shah Invati who bagged 79,784 votes. Invati was leading until the 17th round counting, however, Shah defeated him in the next three rounds and won.

The Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) stood in third position with 28,638 votes. There were nine candidates in the fray, including three independents.

It is the fourth consecutive win for Kamlesh Shah from the Amarwara Assembly seat of Chhindwara district. Previously, he had won three elections - 2013, 2018 and 2023 on Congress ticket.

Shah had resigned from Congress and the state Legislative Assembly and joined BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, which necessitated the bypoll.

Voting was conducted on July 10 and a total of 78.71 per cent polling was recorded, according to the ECI.

The GGP had won the Amarwara seat in 2003, while the Congress represented it nine times. The BJP had emerged victorious in Amarwara in 1972, 1990 and 2008.