Munda leads in Jharkhand bypoll

RANCHI - After eight rounds of counting, Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda was leading by more than 14,000 votes in Kharsawa assembly bypoll Thursday, an official said.

Munda was locked in a tough fight with Krishna Gagarai of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P).

The counting began at 8 a.m.

Till the third round, Munda was trailing by 860 votes from Krishna, but he edged past in the subsequent rounds.

Munda needs to win the election and become a member of the state assembly to fulfil a constitutional necessity as the six-month period since his swearing-in as the chief minister in September is about to end.