The BJP’s tally in the Rajasthan Assembly went up to 163 on Monday with the party candidate Rajendra Singh Rathore winning from Churu, where polling was held on December 13. Mr. Rathore defeated his nearest rival and sitting Congress MLA Maqbool Mandelia by a margin of over 24,000 votes.
The election in Churu was countermanded following the death of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Jagdish Meghwal when polling for 199 of the 200 seats was held on December 1.
The BJP fielded Mr. Rathore, a sitting MLA from Taranagar in Churu district, from the Churu constituency, where he has registered his victory for the sixth term in the House.
A record 78.55 per cent polling was recorded in Churu on December 13.
Mr. Rathore, 56, secured 84,100 votes and Mr. Madelia bagged 60,098 votes in the results announced on Monday.
Mr. Rathore, who was a Minister in the previous Vasundhara Raje regime, is considered close confidant of Ms. Raje.
