The BJP on Thursday retained the Pithoragarh assembly seat in Uttarakhand, defeating its nearest rival Congress by more than 3,000 votes. Chandra Pant of the BJP polled 26,086 votes and Congress' Anju Lunthi 22,819 votes, Pithoragarh District Magistrate cum returning officer V K Jogdande said.

The bypoll to the seat was necessitated after the death of BJP MLA Prakash Pant in June, following which the party fielded his wife Chandra Pant.

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Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said the victory was expected.

"The seat was ours and we are happy to retain it. The margin is big. We thank people of the constituency for reposing their faith in us once again," Rawat said.