"I stand by my prediction": Congress' Ghanshyam Singh confident of winning Datia bypoll by 12,000-15,000 votes

Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh on Monday said he is confident of winning the Datia Assembly by-election by 12,000 to 15,000 votes, as he continued to lead over BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari after 11 of 15 rounds of counting.

Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh on Monday said he is confident of winning the Datia Assembly by-election by 12,000 to 15,000 votes, as he continued to lead over BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari after 11 of 15 rounds of counting. Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "I said that the lead will now continue to increase more rapidly, and I will win by 12,000 to 15,000 votes, and I stand by that. Six rounds are left, and in those, our lead will increase further. There's only one round, the last round, where our party is a bit weak, but even then we will be almost equal or will be behind by just one or two thousand votes, only in that last round."

"My ancestors have been living here for 400 years. They've been living in this very fort; how can they call me an outsider? I went to Sewda for politics, and Sewda is also a part of Datia district," he further said. In Madhya Pradesh's Datia Assembly constituency, Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh is leading by 12,221 votes over BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari after 11 of 15 rounds of counting, according to the Election Commission of India.

Congress workers celebrated at the party office in Bhopal by distributing 'Melody' toffee as the party moved closer to victory in the Datia Assembly by-election. Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari said the party's lead in the Datia Assembly bypoll has exposed the "real face" of the BJP government in the state and claimed that the result is a sign of change among the people.

"This election has exposed the real face of BJP govt of Madhya Pradesh. This is the result of the collective effort of our team in Madhya Pradesh. The people of the state have given a sign for change. Even if he (BJP's Narottam Mishra) had contested, he would have lost," Patwari said. The voting for the high-stakes Datia Assembly by-election in Madhya Pradesh was held on July 30.

The bypoll was necessitated following the disqualification of sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti in April, after a Delhi court convicted and sentenced him in a bank fraud and cheating case. (ANI)