BJP candidate Mahesh Jeena is leading over Congress' Ganga Pancholi by over 1,000 votes in the by-election to Uttarakhand's Salt Assembly constituency, the Election Commission said. The BJP candidate has 8,789 votes, while Pancholi has 7,030 votes, it said. The bypoll to the seat was necessitated after BJP MLA Surendra Singh Jeena succumbed to COVID-19 last year.