MP bypoll: SP candidate elected from Lanji

Samajwadi Party's Kishore Samrite was elected in the Assembly byelection in Lanji constituency in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district on Saturday defeating his Bharatiya Janata Party rival Dhareshwari Bhatere by a margin of 3,734 votes.

SP wrests the seat from BJP.

Samrite, who contested the byelection from behind the bars after he was detained in a case of loot and arson following an agitation against a contractor eight months ago, polled a total of 28,779 votes as against 25,045 polled by Bhatere.

Congress candidate Bhagwat Bhau Nagpure came a distant third polling 11,738 votes.

The byelection was necessitated by the death of former minister Dilip Bhatere (BJP), whose wife was fielded by the ruling party in the byelection in a 19-cornered contest.