Comfortable lead for Mrs Jogi in Kota by-poll

Bilaspur, Dec 7 (UNI) Congress has established a comfortable lead in Kota assembly by-election in Chhattisgarh with its candiate Dr Renu Jogi, wife of former chief minister Ajit Jogi, leading over her BJP rival by a margin of more than 17,500 votes.

As counting progressed here amid tight security, Mrs Jogi established a lead of more than 17,500 votes at the tenth round of counting.

Mrs Jogi, who is contesting her maiden election, was an assistant professor in Opathalmology in Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College here till she quit her government job to look after her husband Ajit Jogi, who had sustained severe spinal cord injuries in a road accident two and a half years ago.

Her nearest BJP rival Bhupendra Singh Thakur had unsuccessfully contested the last two assembly elections from the same constituency, where he had lost to Congress veteran Rajendra Prasad Shukla, a former Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha of Madhya Pradesh and later in Chhattisgarh.

By-poll in this rural constituency, which has been a traditional stronghold of the Congress as the party had won all the elections held since 1952, was necessitated following the death of Mr Rajendra Prasad Shukla.

The ruling BJP had mobilised all the resources at its command, deploying a dozen ministers and party workers from all over the state to wrest the seat from the Congress.

BJP took this by-election as a prestigious contest as it considered it as an opportunity to 'defeat' Mr Jogi who they consider as a strong Congress leader capable to turn the tide against BJP in the next assembly elections scheduled after two years.

UNI JJ SP 1124