Impressive show by BJP in Bilaspur Sadar

Nadda garnered 6,000 more votes as compared to the 1993 elections when he defeated Gautam by a margin of over 2,000 votes. His style of campaigning was offensive from the very beginning. Coupled with the support of a large number of youth and greater rapport with his electorate, Nadda won the elections with ease and pooled a substantial chunk of votes for the party Lok Sabha candidate.

On the other hand, people feel that had Congress allotted the party ticket either to Col. A.P. Gautam or vice president of Youth Congress, the results would have been different. The Congress campaign had also been ill-organised and the party had been banking on Bharatiya Janata Partydeserter and HVC candidate Sadaram Thakur who got only 2,195 votes, making little inroads in the votebank of Nadda.

Congress also licked dust in the Gherwin (reserve) constituency as former Deputy Speaker Rikhiram Kondal of the Bharatiya Janata Party defeated his rival Dr Birj Ram Kishore. Here too, the party chairman of Zila Parishad Dilaram Dhiman had been denied ticket.

In Kotkehloor, Congress nominee and Health Minister Ramlal Thakur defeated K.K. Kaushal of the BJP by 3,063 votes. Thakur had a strong base in the area and enjoyed constant rapport with the people.

In Ghumarwin, Kashmir Singh of the BJP retained the seat with a slender margin of 1,539 votes. In the dissolved Vidhan Sabha, Congress had three and BJP had one seat.

Now both the parties have got an even number of seats strengthening the BJP position here in the district.