A Congress candidate in Madhya Pradesh municipal council polls died of a heart attack that he suffered during the counting of votes on Sunday, an official said.

Harinarayan Gupta had contested the election for the post of councillor in a civic body in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh.

The 45-year-old year felt uneasy during the counting of votes, in which he came to knew that he was trailing behind his rival, a party leader said.

Gupta later died at a hospital and also lost the election, he said. Gupta had fought the election from ward number-9 of Hanumana Nagar Parishad earlier this month.

“The health condition of Harinarayan Gupta deteriorated at around 10 am and he later suffered a heart attack when the counting of votes was underway,” Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Naveen Dubey said. Gupta was then admitted to a hospital, where he died at around 11.30 am, he added.

Who defeated Harinarayan?

An independent candidate, Akhilesh Gupta, won the election against the Congress candidate Harinarayan Gupta by a margin of 14 votes and the process of issuing the certificate was underway.

Talking to PTI, district president of the Congress, Triyoginagarayan Shukla, said his party’s performance was very strong in Hanumana Nagar Parishad as eight out of total 15 the councillors belonged to the grand old party.

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Madhya Pradesh local bodies elections

Local bodies elections in the state for 413 municipalities, including 16 Nagar Palika Nigam, 99 Nagar Palika Parishad and 298 Nagar Parishad were held in two phases – on July 6 and 13.

Under the first-phase, polling was held in 11 municipal corporations, 36 nagar palikas and 86 nagar parishads. The counting of votes began at 9 am on Sunday.

(With inputs from PTI)