New Delhi: Congress candidate Indu Raj Narwal on Tuesday defeated his nearest rival and BJP nominee Yogeshwar Dutt in the Baroda assembly seat of Haryana with a margin of over 10,000 votes, said officials.
This is the second consecutive time Yogeshwar Dutt has failed to win this seat; he was fielded by the party in last year’s full election but lost to the Congress’s three-time winner Krishan Hooda.
The bypoll was also a matter of prestige for former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as this Jat-dominated constituency lies adjacent to his own Garhi-Sampla Kiloi seat and is seen as his stronghold.
As of noon, Indu Raj is leading with 17,827 votes, while Dutt has 13,985 votes. The counting of votes for the Baroda Assembly by-poll in Haryana began at 8 am on Tuesday.
The fate of 14 candidates, including seven Independents, will be decided today. According to the EC, 68 per cent of the 1.81 lakh electors exercised their franchise on November 3.
