The ruling Samajwadi Party has retained the Charkhari Assembly constituency in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, with its candidate, Urmila Rajput, defeating Akhil Rajput of the BJP by over 40,000 votes in the April 11 by-election.
Ms. Rajput polled 82,159 votes and Mr. Akhil Rajput 41,210. Ram Jeevan of the Congress finished third with 36,513 votes.
Ms. Rajput is a former Samajwadi Party MP. Mr. Akhil Rajput is the son of the former BSP MP, Ganga Charan Rajput, who joined the BJP.
The by-election was necessitated by the disqualification of the Samajwadi Party MLA, Kaptan Singh, after he was convicted in a murder case. He won the seat in the September 2014 by-election, after Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti vacated it on her election to the Lok Sabha from Jhansi.
