Bypolls: BJP Sweeps MP, UP And Gujarat

It was advantage BJP on Tuesday with the party emerging victorious in many states. The BJP has won 16 seats and was leading in three others in the bypolls to 28 seats in the state. 

Votes were counted for Assembly by-elections in 59 constituencies across 11 states.
Counting for the voting held on November 3 began at 8am and progressed in accordance with the Election Commission’s guidelines restricting the number of people in counting halls, officials said. Extensive measures were taken to ensure social distancing.

HARYANA

The Opposition Congress on Tuesday retained the Baroda Assembly seat after its candidate Indu Raj Narwal defeated BJP nominee and Olympian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt by a margin of 10,566 votes. This is the second time that Dutt has lost from the constituency. In the 2019 assembly polls, he had lost by about 4,800 votes to Congress candidate Krishan Hooda, whose demise in April necessitated the bypolls.

According to officials, Narwal was polled 60,636 votes against Dutt’s 50,070. Indian National Lok Dal nominee Joginder Singh Malik polled 5,003 votes while Loktantra Suarkasha Party candidate Raj Kumar Saini received 5,601 votes.

Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda thanked voters for the “landslide victory” in the Baroda by-elections. “This was not just a victory for Congress candidate Induraj Narwal but a victory for communal harmony and brotherhood between all communities of Baroda,” said Hooda in a statement here.

UTTAR PRADESH

The BJP retained six seats and the SP hung on to its Malhani constituency in the bypolls, that were conducted for seven assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. The 6:1 outcome indicated on Tuesday that the ruling party continued its hold over the populous state.

BJP candidate Sangeeta Chauhan won in Naugawan Sadat, Usha Sirohi in Bulandshahr, Prem Pal Dhangar in Tundla, Shrikant Katiyar in Bangarmau, Satya Prakash Mani Tripathi in Deoria and Upendra Nath Paswan in Ghatampur, the Election Commission said. Samajwadi Party’s Lucky Yadav won the Malhani seat.

The PM lauded the Yogi Adityanath government for the party’s performance in the bypolls.

  The bypolls for the seven UP seats recorded a voter turnout of 53 per cent on November 3, with 88 candidates in the fray.

MADHYA PRADESH

After securing the numbers in the Assembly bypolls for a stable government, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the outcome proves voters supported the decision taken by Congress MLAs to pull down the previous Kamal Nath dispensation.

The BJP, which came to power in March after the collapse of the Nath government following a revolt by a section of Congress MLAs, has so far won 11 out the 28 Assembly seats where bypolls were held on November 3.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of MP for the party's victory.

The ruling party is leading on eight other seats. On the other hand, the Congress has secured victory on one seat and was leading in eight constituencies.

In the 230-member House, the BJP tally has increased to 118 (breaching the simple majority mark of 116) with the addition of these 11 seats, providing stability to the Chouhan government.

KARNATAKA

The ruling BJP on Tuesday swept the bypolls to two assembly seats in Karnataka by wresting them from opposition parties such as the Congress and the JD(S). The outcome has given a boost to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's stock amid talks about his replacement in some quarters.

It is seen as a setback for opposition leaders, especially Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar as it was the first election to take place in the state under his stewardship.

With this victory, the BJP has 118 seats in the 225-member assembly. Congress has 67 members, JDS 33, BSP one, nominated one and two independents besides the speaker. In Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly segment, N Munirathna scored a hat-trick, winning by an impressive margin of more than 58,000 votes. In Sira, BJP scripted history as it recorded its first ever victory there with its candidate Dr C M Rajesh Gowda securing the seat by a margin of over 13,400 votes.

CHHATTISGARH

The ruling Congress won the Marwahi Assembly bypoll in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. Bypoll was necessitated for this seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), after the death of its sitting MLA and Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) founder Ajit Jogi on May 29.

Congress candidate Dr K K Dhruw won the bypoll to the constituency, located in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi (GPM) district, by 38,197 votes. He defeated the BJP's Dr Gambheer Singh. Dhruw polled 83,561 votes while Singh secured 45,364 votes, the official said. Voting had been held on November 3 and the turnout was 77.89 per cent.

GUJARAT

In a clean sweep, the ruling BJP on Tuesday won all the eight assembly seats in Gujarat where byelections were held, dealing a blow to the opposition Congress which had bagged these constituencies in 2017. The BJP's tally in the 182-member Assembly has now reached 111.

The Congress, disappointed by the results, said they had expected voters to teach a lesson to party MLAs who resigned and switched sides.

Eight Congress MLAs had resigned before the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat, and five of them, who were given tickets by the BJP, their new party, won on Tuesday. Despite switching sides, voters of their constituencies reposed faith in these five leaders and sent them to the Assembly.

NAGALANG

Ruling NDPP nominee Medo Yhokha bagged the Southern Angami-I seat, while Independent candidate T Yangseo Sangtam won the by-elections to the Pungro-Kiphire assembly segment in Nagaland on Tuesday, officials said.

In the Southern Angami-I segment, Yhokha polled 4,773 votes, defeating his nearest rival -- Independent candidate Seyievilie Peter Zashumo -- by 598 votes, announced Returning Officer Mohammed Ali Shihab. Zashumo received 4,175 votes and NPF nominee Kikovi Kirha got 2,575 votes, he said.

The by-election in the seat was held on November 3 as it fell vacant due to the death of MLA Vikho-o Yhoshu, who was also the speaker of the assembly.

MANIPUR

BJP candidate Oinam Lukhoi Singh won the byelection to the Wangoi seat, while Independent candidate Y Antas Khan bagged the Lilong seat in Manipur, officials said.

Oinam Lukhoi Singh won the Wangoi seat by defeating his nearest rival Khuraijam Loken Singh belonging to the National People's Party by 257 votes, as per the ECI website.

In the Lilong seat, Y Antas Khan won by defeating his nearest rival Mohd Abdul Nasir by 3,078 votes.

The bypolls held on November 7 were necessitated after Congress MLAs in four seats resigned from the assembly and joined the ruling BJP.

The BJP contested in three seats and supported an Independent candidate in Lilong, while the Congress fielded its nominees in all the four constituencies. Votes are still being countes in two seats.

ODISHA

Ruling BJD candidates widened their leads in both the assembly seats, where counting of votes polled in the November 3 by-elections is underway on Tuesday, Election Commission officials said.

BJD's Bijaya Shankar Das was leading over BJP candidate Rajkishore Behera by 27,665 votes in Tirtol seat in Jagatsinghpur district, they said.

Das polled 60,889 votes after 18 rounds of counting, while Behera has bagged 33,224 votes. Congress nominee Himanshu Bhushan Mallick has got 15,325 votes.

JHARKHAND

The JMM-led ruling coalition of Jharkhand retained Dumka and Bermo assembly seats in byelections defeating the BJP, albeit with drastically reduced margins from that of the 2019 state polls.

JMM candidate Basant Soren, who is the younger brother of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, defeated his nearest BJP rival Lois Marandi, a former minister, by 6,842 votes, in Dumka seat, the Election Commission said while declaring the by-poll results on Tuesday.

The winning margin of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha reduced almost by half compared to what it was in last year's assembly election.

In Bermo constituency, Kumar Jayamangal alias Anup Singh of the Congress defeated Yogeshwar Mahto "Batul", his nearest BJP rival, by a margin of 14,225 votes. Here also, the winning margin reduced by several thousands of votes.

In Dumka and Bermo seats, 12 and 16 candidates were in the fray respectively. Barring the nominees of the JMM, Congress and the BJP, all other contestants lost their deposits in the two constituencies.

TELANGANA

In a boost to the BJP in Telangana, the party on Tuesday won the bypoll held to the Dubbak Assembly constituency, a stronghold of the ruling Telangana Rashra Samithi, defeating the TRS candidate by a margin of 1,079 votes.

"BJP candidate won by 1,079 votes," Siddipet district Collector Bharati Hollikeri told PTI over phone. In a close contest, BJP's M Raghunandan Rao got 63,352 votes, while the TRS nominee secured 62,273 votes. Cheruku Srinivas Reddy of the Congress finished third with 22,196 votes.