Congress retains Bhagwanpur seat in Uttarakhand by-poll

The ruling Congress on Wednesday retained Uttarakhand's Bhagwanpur assembly seat.
According to the state election office, Congress candidate Mamta Rakesh defeated her closest Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival by over 36,900 votes in the by-poll.

Congress workers broke into celebrations and raised slogans in favour of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat. 

Mamta Rakesh is the widow of Surendra Rakesh, whose death had necessitated the by-election. Congress had fielded his widow as its candidate.

Uttarakhand Congress chief Kishore Upadhyaya said the victory was a result of the goodwill Surendra Rakesh had generated and the pro-development policies of the state government.