Importantly, the BJP candidate was ahead by over 2500 votes till the fourth round of counting, but the first-time Congress nominee surged ahead thereafter, leading till the 16th round by over 7700 votes before the ruling party candidate reversed the lead and ultimately won by the contest in the 20th and last round by 3000-plus votes.While the BJP cornered 40.84% vote (3.54% more than 2023 assembly polls), Congress’s vote 39.35% share was 9% lower than the previous polls. The GGP emerged as the biggest gainer, as its 14.12% share was six per cent more than the 2023 assembly polls.Interestingly, the BJP candidate Kamlesh Shah (who is from the erstwhile Harrai princely state’s royal family) was the Congress’s 2013, 2018 and 2023 winner. He quit as an MLA and from the Congress on March 30, 2024, to join the BJP just before the Lok Sabha polls, necessitating the July 10 by-election. On the other hand, the Congress’s greenhorn candidate Dheeranshah Invati is the son of the prime sevak (caretaker) of the Anchal Kund Dham, the prime centre of tribal faith in Chhindwara and Pandhurna districts, owing to which the poll battle was termed as a contest between Royalty and Faith.
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