Cong candidate leads in Karanpur assembly seat with over 9,700 votes

Jaipur: Congress candidate Rupinder Singh Koonar was leading with over 9,700 votes against BJP minister Surendra Pal Singh after 17 rounds of counting were completed in Rajasthan's Karanpur assembly seat.

According to the chief electoral officer, Koonar has bagged 90,098 votes so far while BJP candidate Singh has got 80,379 votes. Only one more round of counting remained.

Voting for the seat was held on January 5.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra congratulated Koonar ahead of his victory.

Singh was inducted into the Rajasthan ministry after the BJP won the assembly polls, bagging 115 of the 199 seats.

According to the rules, Singh has six months to get elected to the assembly after being inducted as a minister.

With the trends indicating a win for Koonar, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, "The people of Karanpur have broken the arrogance of BJP. Congress candidate Shri Rupinder Singh Koonar has won from there."

"The arrogant leaders of BJP will have to understand that even if they make someone a 'minister', it is the people who make them 'people's representatives," Ramesh said.

Gehlot said, "Hearty congratulations and best wishes to Congress candidate Shri Rupinder Singh Koonar for his victory in Srikaranpur. This victory is dedicated to the public service works done by the late Gurmeet Singh Koonar. The people of Srikaranpur have defeated the pride of the Bharatiya Janata Party."

Dotasra said, "The public has taught a lesson to the BJP, which flouted the code of conduct and morality by making its candidate a minister during the elections."

When the constitutional institutions of the country forget their responsibilities, then justice is done in the public court. This mandate is a slap on the BJP's "dictatorship and undemocratic policy", he said.

The election for Karanpur was postponed due to the death of Congress candidate and sitting MLA Gurmeet Singh Koonar. The Congress then fielded his son Rupinder Singh Koonar from the seat.