Congress' Manish Tewari wins from Chandigarh, defeats BJP's Sanjay Tandon by 2,500 votes

Chandigarh, Jun 4 (PTI) The Congress' Manish Tewari defeated the BJP's Sanjay Tandon to secure victory from Chandigarh's lone Lok Sabha seat.

Tewari, a former Union minister, won by a slender margin of 2,504, according to data on the Election Commission website.

The senior Congress leader said his win was a victory for justice, peace and stability.

"Grateful to Chandigarh and my beloved people for their blessings in making me win the elections. This is the victory of justice, peace and stability over divisive politics -- a true win for democracy," Tewari said.

"The people of Chandigarh are the torchbearers of safeguarding our Constitution. I guarantee that together we shall usher in a bright progressive future for Chandigarh, as promised. Thank you once again for your faith in my leadership," he said.

Tewari maintained his lead over Tandon since counting began, despite Congress workers alleging later on Tuesday that there was a delay in declaring the final result.

The Congress contested the election in Chandigarh in alliance with AAP.

Following his nomination, Tewari's rivals dubbed him a "constituency hopper".

Responding to the charge, he had said his family's blood was mixed in Chandigarh's soil and asserted that no matter where he lived or contested elections from, "we live for India, we die for India".

Tewari's father VN Tewari was assassinated by terrorists in April 1984. He was an author, a professor at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and a nominated MP.

The Congress nominee, during the poll campaign, had even dared BJP candidate Tandon for a debate on various issues so that the people of the Union Territory could judge who would be better as their representative.

Tewari, an advocate, first became an MP from Punjab's Ludhiana constituency in 2009. He was also made the minister for information and broadcasting.

He contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Anandpur Sahib seat in Punjab and secured victory over the Shiromani Akali Dal's Prem Singh Chandumajra. PTI CHS CHS SZM