Verma of Cong wins Pithampur civic body president poll

MHOW: In a major embarrassment to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, the opposition Congress candidate Jagannath Verma wrested the seat of president of Pithampur Municipal Corporation. Though the Congress candidate won the for the post of president the party could win 13 seats of the 31-member body. BJP won 17 seats while one went to an independent.
Polling for the Pithampur municipal body was held on Monday and counting was done on Wednesday.
Congress leader, Verma, defeated Devendra Patel of BJP by a margin of 1391 votes. Patel is a senior BJP leader and the sitting municipal president in Pithampur civic body.
Ashok Patel, a BJP leader, who had contested the election as a rebel candidate, stood third.
According to reports from the state a total of 39,980 votes, out of a total 61,095 eligible votes, were cast during the poll. Verma got 15,021 votes, while Devendra Patel and Ashok Patel polled 13630 and 9798 votes respecitvely.
7 other contenders for the post of the president were not able to save their security deposits. Rajendra Kelotra of aam admi party (AAP of Arvind Kejriwal) polled only 174 votes.
There are 31 wards in Pithampur, of which BJP had won in 17 wards while Congress were victorious in 13 wards. One independent also won.
BJP had been ruling the Pithampur civic body during the last 15 years and it was for the first time in the decade and half that the Congress party was able to win the seat. The presence of its leader as a rebel Ashok Patel in the fray seems to have hurt the BJP.