The Bharatiya Janata Party's nominee for Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam-Jhabua Lok Sabha seat, Nirmala Bhuria, lost to the Congress candidate Kantilal Bhuria, by over 88,000 votes. The Congress fielded the former Union minister against the BJP's candidate who is daughter of the late MP of Ratlam-Jhabua, Dileep Bhuria, reported PTI. The BJP however retained the Dewar Assembly seat, winning by around 31,000 votes. The Assembly seat was contested by Gayatri Raje Puar for the BJP and Jai Prakash Shastri from the Congress.
The Hindustan Times reported that the fight for Ratlam-Jhabua was fought closely, with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also visiting the constituency for a week. After his win, Kantilal Bhuria said that the bypoll was a direct contest between him and the chief minister, who suffered a humiliating defeat. The BJP's loss there may further affect the chief minister’s image, after the Vyapam scam hit the state this year. This is Chouhan’s third term as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. The Congress is likely to use its win to put up a stronger front in the state, where it has been out of power since 2003. Reports suggest that the predominantly tribal community in Ratlam-Jhabua may also have swung against the BJP because of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks against reservation.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi retained the Warangal (SC) Lok Sabha seat, with its candidate Pasunoori Dayakar winning by a margin of nearly 4.6 lakh votes, PTI reported.
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