Summary:
BHOPAL: 66-year-old Congress leader Arif Aqueel was elected to the Bhopal North constituency for the sixth time, here on Tuesday. In the previous elections, Aqueel’s margin of victory was around 5,000 votes only.He sat in a corner waiting returning officer certificate in the counting booth . Top BJP stalwarts campaigned against Aqueel in support of Siddiqui, whose late father was a Congress MLA from Bhopal.Voting percentage was just about 2% higher than previous elections in the constituency. Political inexperience of Siddiqui, failed to consolidate on anti-incumbency against the sitting MLA.Aqueel polled 89,902 votes against second placed Siddiqui who got 55,367 votes. Eventually, a new candidate without a track record helped Aqueel attain a thumping win..