Congress maintains lead in Rajnandgaon

Rajnandgaon, Apr 1 (UNI) Congress candidate Devavrat Singh has maintained his lead of more than 20,000 votes at the end of seventh round of counting as counting progressed in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constiteuncy in Chhattisgarh.

Counting of votes, which began at 0800 hours at Rajnandgaon and Kawardha district headquarters, is progressing peacefully and the result could be expected by noon, district collector and returning officer R S Vishwakarma said.

While BJP candidate Leelaram Bhojwani is leading is Rajnandgaon assembly segment, Congress nominee Devavrat Singh has secured leads in all the remaining seven assembly segments of the constituency.

At the end of seventh round of counting, Mr Singh was leading by a margin of more than 20,000 votes over his BJP rival in a 15 corner contest. Congress has also secured lead in Dongergaon, the assembly constituency being represented by BJP chief minister Dr Raman Singh and in Kawardha-- his home town.

By-election for the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat was necessitated following expulsion of BJP MP Pradeep Gandhi from the lower house of parliament over his involvement in the 'cash-for-question' scandal. Mr Gandhi had won the seat in the 2004 elections as a candidate of the BJP. UNI