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The results of bypolls to three Lok Sabha and 29 assembly seats spread across 13 states and a union territory have been a mixed bag for the BJP as its fortunes continue to nosedive in West Bengal against the might of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee. while bad tidings have also come from states like Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. Assam and Madhya Pradesh saved the saffron party from a total rout .
West Bengal
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has won all four assembly seats — Dinhata, Khardah, Santipur, Gosaba — in by-elections. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee reserves this taunt for the BJP. “A cracker free Diwali in true sense. Wishing folks at @BJP4India a very Happy Diwali!”
Himachal Pradesh
The Congress has all three Assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh that went to by-polls on October 30th. In the Lok Sabha by-elections, an emotional connect seemed to give an edge to candidates in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.
Pratibha Singh, late chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s wife, won against her nearest rival, Kargil war hero and BJP candidate Brigadier (retd) Khushal Thakur in Mandi. In Fatehpur, Bhawani Singh Pathania won the seat against the BJP. In Jubbal-Kotkhai, Rohit Thakur won against Independent candidate Chetan Singh Bragta and BJP’s Neelam Seraik.
Karnataka
BJP suffered a huge loss to the Congress in Hanagal, which falls in Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s home district Haveri, in the bypolls, results of which were declared on Tuesday. The BJP, meanwhile, won the Sindgi seat, with party candidate Ramesh Bhusanur defeating the nearest rival from Congress by a whopping margin of 31,185 votes. Bhusanur secured 93,865 votes, while his closest rival Congress’ Ashok Managuli secured 62,680 votes.
In Hangal, Congress’ Srinivas Mane won by a margin of 7,373 votes, securing 87,490 votes, while his closest rival Shivaraj Sajjanar of BJP bagged 80,117 votes. The big loss in Hanagal has come as a shock to CM Bommai, who is just completing 100 days in office.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Shiv Sena candidate Kalaben Delkar on Tuesday won the by-election to the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seat with a comfortable margin of 51,269 votes, EC officials said. While Kalaben Delkar (50), wife of former independent MP Mohan Delkar whose death necessitated the bypoll, garnered 1,18,035 votes, her closest rival, BJP’s Mahesh Gavit, bagged 66,766 votes.
Assam
The ruling BJP-led alliance in Assam won all the five assembly constituencies where bypolls were held, with the saffron party bagging three seats and its ally United Peoples’ Party Liberal emerging victorious in the two other, according to the Election Commission of India .
The BJP’s Phani Talukdar, Rupjyoti Kurmi and Sushanta Borgohain retained their respective Bhabanipur, Mariani and Thowra seats which they had won in the assembly elections held earlier this year on tickets given by other parties but resigned after joining the saffron party.
Kurmi retained the Mariani assembly constituency for the sixth time, defeating Congress candidate Luhit Konwar by 40,104 votes while Talukdar won the Bhabanipur seat for the second time beating Sailendra Das of the grand old party by 25,641 votes.
Madhya Pradesh
The BJP has snatched Jobat (ST) assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh from Congress with the saffron party candidate Sulochana Rawat defeating her nearest rival Mahesh Patel by a margin of 6,104 votes in the bypoll, counting for which was held on Tuesday, officials said.
Rawat received 68,949 votes and Patel 62,845, officials added.The Congress also won the bypoll to the Raigaon (SC) assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh, with Kalpana Verma defeating her nearest rival, BJP’s Pratima Bagri, by a margin of 12,290 votes.
Rajasthan
The ruling Congress won the bypolls to the Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad assembly segments in Rajasthan, pushing the opposition BJP to the third and fourth places there.
Before the bypolls, the Dhariawad seat was represented by the BJP and Vallabhnagar by the Congress. With the win, the tally of the Congress in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly reached 108 against the BJP’s 71 MLAs. The BJP has accepted defeat in the bypolls, with its state chief Satish Poonia saying it depended on “local equations”.
Meghalaya
The NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance got a shot in the arm, as it clinched all three assembly seats where bypolls were held on October 30, an official said.
The National People’s Party wrested Rajabala and Mawryngkneng seats from the Congress, while the United Democratic Party, a partner in the MDA government, emerged victorious in Mawphlang, Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongor said.
