BJP leading in Shahdol Lok Sabha by-poll

BHOPAL: BJP nominee and tribal leader Gyan Singh is leading by a margin of 12,000 votes in the Shahdol Lok Sabha by-poll in Madhya Pradesh, an election official said today.

The trends started pouring in after counting began around 8 AM for both the LS as well as the assembly seat (Nepanagar) in Madhya Pradesh.

In Shahdol (reserved ST seat), Congress has fielded Himadri Singh, daughter of former Union Minister Dalbir Singh and ex-MP Rajesh Nandini Singh.

The Shahdol bypoll was necessitated due to the death of BJP MP Dalpat Singh Paraste who had wrested the seat from Congress's Rajesh Nandini Singh in 2014.

Gyan Singh, a senior minister in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's cabinet had won the Shahdol seat in 1996 and 1998.