Ajay Chandrakar of the BJP is leading independent candidate Neelam Chandrakar in the Kurud seat in Chhattisgarh by 11,736 votes.

Ajay Chandrakar received 70,629 votes so far, while Neelam Chandrakar secured 58,893 votes, according to Election Commission data. Congress' Laxmikanta Sahu was trailing at the third spot with 25,124 votes.

In 2013 state assembly elections, the BJP’s Ajay Chndrakar defeated Congress’ Lekhram Sahu by 27,000 votes.

Kurud is part of Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district. Voting was held in the second phase of polling on November 20 in Kurud. As per the 2011 census, the population of this area is 13,783 with an average literacy rate of 82.80 percent.

The Election Commission held voting in two phases in the naxal-affected state on November 12 and November 20.

Chhattisgarh is one of the five states where elections were held between November 12 and December 7.

The first phase of voting covered mostly assembly seats in the Bastar division and parts of Rajnandgaon.

These polls are seen as a bellwether of the 2019 general elections.