BJP loses all three Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar: SP wins Gorakhpur, Phulpur seats; RJD bags Araria
BJP party lost bypolls to all three Lok Sabha seats it contested, including its bastion Gorakhpur, and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh, besides Araria in Bihar
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In a stunning blow to the BJP ahead of the 2019 general elections, the party on Wednesday lost bypolls to all three Lok Sabha seats it contested, including its bastion Gorakhpur, and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh, besides Araria in Bihar. PTI
In Gorakhpur, Samajwadi Party's Pravin Nishad defeated BJP's Upendra Dutt Shukla by 21,961 votes. Nishad polled 4,56,513 votes, while BJP's Upendra Shukla bagged 4,34,632 votes. Sureetha Kareem of the Congress was a distant third with 18,858 votes. The SP candidate was backed by BSP, NISHAD Party and Peace Party. PTI
In Phulpur, Samajwadi Party candidate Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel defeated his nearest Bharatiya Janata Party rival Kaushlendra Singh Patel by 59,613 votes, leading to noisy celebrations and calls for Opposition unity across the nation to defeat the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha battle. PTI
Akhilesh Yadav called it a mandate against both the central and state governments and the results will give a new direction to the national politics. The SP chief was profuse in expressing his gratitude towards Mayawati, who was once his party's bitterest rival in Uttar Pradesh. PTI
View of the deserted Uttar Pradesh BJP office in Lucknow. Buffeted by the surprise defeat, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed it to "overconfidence" of the party and called for an in-depth analysis of the causes. The Samajwadi Party had an electoral understanding with Mayawati's BSP and tied up with local satraps. PTI
Meanwhile, in Bihar RJD retained the Araria Lok Sabha and emerged victorious in Jehanabad Assembly seat, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Bhabhua Assembly constituency. Tejashwi Yadav thanked the people of Bihar and called it a victory of Lalu Prasad's ideology. PTI