Panchkula seat: BJP’s Gupta wins with 5,385 votes, defeats Chander Mohan

In the first round of counting, Mohan was ahead of Gupta with 29 votes. In the first eight rounds where the votes from EVMs of sectors of Panchkula were calculated, the BJP got ahead with 8,986 votes.

Gian Chand Gupta in Panchkula on Thursday. (Express photo by Jaipal Singh)

THE SITTING MLA from Panchkula, Gian Chand Gupta, won with a margin of 5,385 votes in the Assembly elections, results of which were declared on Thursday. He defeated the Congress’s Chander Mohan.

While Gupta polled 60,749 votes, Mohan got 55,364 votes. Of the total 2.08 lakh registered voters, 1.24 lakh had exercised their franchise.

In the first round of counting, Mohan was ahead of Gupta with 29 votes. In the first eight rounds where the votes from EVMs of sectors of Panchkula were calculated, the BJP got ahead with 8,986 votes. After round nine, where votes from EVMs of village areas and colonies were calculated, the Congress’s votes slowly started rising but the rise was too slow and by the end of round 12, it became clear that the BJP was heading for a clear victory. There were a total of 15 rounds of counting.

After his victory, an ecstatic Gupta said, “Though the results do not match our expectations, we will keep working hard for the people of the city. This win is not for me but for the people of the city. Development has been my agenda ever since I came in and I will work on the same during my next tenure too.”

A gracious Mohan, who left the strong room smiling, after round 12, said, “Humari to haar me bhi jeet hui hai (We have won in our defeat). Within a short period of 15 days, I campaigned and I garnered such a huge support. That itself is a win for me.”

Talking about his future plans, he said, “I will keep working for the people of the city as I always have.”

Asked about his stronghold of villages and colonies slipping away, Mohan said, “I have received plenty of votes from them and thank them for their support.”

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The Congress candidate attributed Gupta’s win to “the trickery of liquor”.

In the 2014 Assembly elections, Gupta had polled 69,916 votes and defeated the INLD’s Kulbhushan Goyal (who later joined the BJP) with a margin of 44,602 votes. The victory was huge as Gupta had lost the 2009 Panchkula Assembly election and could not even come in second then.