BAJHANG: In the ongoing vote counting for Ward No. 1 from Chhabispathibhara Rural Municipality of Bajhang, CPN-UML’s Daman Bhandari has surged ahead, maintaining the lead.

According to the latest tally, UML’s Bhandari has secured 1592 votes so far while CPN-Maoist Center’s Janak Bahadur Budha has garnered 999 votes.

Likewise, Nepali Congress candidate Abhishek Bahadur Singh has garnered 955 votes and Dil Bahadur Singh, candidate of the Unified Socialist Party has got 572 votes as of now.

The by-election, conducted on Saturday, saw a turnout of 30,328 out of 61,748 eligible voters, marking a 49.12 percent overall participation rate.