Kaushambi rejects BJP-supported candidate in zila panchayat president bypoll

ALLAHABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday received a jolt in the home turf of deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya when party supported candidate Madhupati lost to

independent candidate

in the

zila panchayat

president by-election 2017 held in Kaushambi amidst tight security arrangements.

District Magistrate, Kaushambi, Manish Kumar Verma has given winning certificate to independent candidate Anamika Singh who had secured a total of 29 votes while her rival and BJP supported candidate Madhupati could manage only eight votes. A total of 29 votes were polled and one of the vote was declared invalid during counting.

Reacting to the defeat of party candidate, BJP district president Ramesh Pasi said “ we accept our defeat in the zila panchayat president by-election”. He also admitted that “we could not manage to win the trust of members who had voted in favour of rival candidate”.

Meanwhile, district

SP leaders

claimed that they had supported the independent candidate Anamika Singh who declared victorious. A senior SP leader said “ it was win of truth and the tall claims of rival party regarding

good governance

has fallen flat”.