Kanpur Legislative Council bypoll: BJP-backed Arun Pathak wins

KANPUR: BJP-backed Arun Pathak has won the Legislative Council bypoll to Kanpur division graduates' constituency, making a breakthrough into the Congress bastion.

The results of the January 19 polls were declared today and Pathak defeated his nearest rival Congress-backed Manvendra Swaroop by a margin of 1,816 votes, a statement issued by Kanpur Divisional Commissioner and Election Officer Mohammed Iftikaruddin said.

Pathak polled 25,133 votes while Swaroop polled 23,317 votes in the polls, the statement said.

Thirteen candidates were in the fray for the bypoll which was necessitated following sitting legislator Jagendra Swaroop's death.

The constituency has been the bastion of the Swaroop family for nearly six decades. For the last 34 years, Manvendra's father Jagendra Swaroop had been the MLC from the constituency and before that, his father Virendra had retained the seat for nearly 24 years.

Pathak, who contested the polls for the first time, said that his victory was a result of the developmental works undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.