The ruling NCP is leading over the opposition BJP in the by-election to Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly constituency in Maharashtra's Solapur district, as per initial trends of counting of votes on Sunday morning.
"At the end of the fourth round of counting, BJP's Samadhan Autade bagged 11,303 votes, while NCP's Bhagirath Bhalke polled 11,941 votes, taking a lead of 638 votes," a district election official said. The NCP and the BJP are in a direct fight in the bypoll, which was necessitated following the death of NCP legislator Bharat Bhalke due to post-COVID-19 complications in November last year.