Congress candidate Devti Karma won the Dantewada bypoll in Chhattisgarh with a comprehensive margin of 11,192 votes, snatching the single seat that the Bharatiya Janata Party could win from naxal-affected Bastar division in the 2018 assembly elections.
Devti defeated Ojaswi Mandavi of the BJP, the widow of former Dantewada MLA Bheema Mandavi who had been killed in a Maoist attack on April 9, just two days ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the state.
The Congress already enjoys absolute majority in the Chhattisgarh Assembly having won 68 out of 90 seats. With this win, its tally only goes up giving a boost to the Bhupesh Baghel-led government in the state.
Chief Minister Baghel tweeted to congratulate Devti on her win and said that the people of Dantewada have blessed the Congress government and stamped approval of its work to create a 'Nava (new) Chhattisgarh'.
He also said that the election of Devti is a win of late Congress leader and former minister Mahendra Karma's dreams. Devti is widow of Mahendra Karma who was among the senior leaders of the party killed during the infamous Jhiram Ghati attack by Maoists in May 2013.
Mahendra Karma was popularly known as 'Bastar tiger' and was instrumental in the Salwa Judum movement of the Congress, which is considered to be one of the major factors for his assassination.
BJP had fielded late Mandavi's widow in the expectation of garnering sympathy votes, but the Congress candidate managed to defeat her comprehensively.
CM Baghel also exuded confidence that the Congress will win the Chitrakoot by-poll, also in Bastar division, scheduled for October 21, by adopting similar strategy as that in Dantewada. The Chitrakoot seat fell vacant due to resignation of Deepak Baij of the Congress, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in May 2019.