Rajinder Nagar bypoll: AAP candidate leads over BJP's by 5,000 votes after 7th round of counting

AAP candidate Durgesh Pathak galloped ahead with a lead of over 5,000 votes over his immediate rival, BJP’s Rajesh Bhatia, after seven rounds of counting on Sunday for the Rajinder Nagar assembly bypoll, according to the official data.

Numbers showed that at the end of the sixth round of counting, Pathak was leading over Bhatia by a margin of nearly 3,000 votes, which rose to over 5,000 by the end of seventh round of counting.

Pathak was leading the tally over Bhatia by a margin of over 1,000 votes by the end of fifth round of counting.

At the beginning of the counting, Pathak was leading with over 1,500 votes, but the margin reduced to 1,153 by the end of fifth round.

After the seventh round of counting, Pathak had secured 56.24 per cent of the votes counted, according to the official data shared by authorities.

Bhatia was behind him with 40.9 per cent share of the votes counted in the first round.

Congress candidate Prem Lata was trailing with a meagre 2.19 per cent vote share.

Bypoll to the crucial assembly seat had taken place on June 23 with a low turnout at 43.75 per cent. Fourteen candidates threw their hats in the fray, which has largely been seen as a battle between a confident AAP and a spirited BJP.

Counting of votes began at 8 AM amid tight security arrangements.