Assembly by-elections results: BJP wins 19 of 28 MP seats, sweeps Gujarat, UP; Congress wins Chattisgarh, Haryana

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday has shown a stellar performance in Assembly by-elections across 11 states with wins in 40 of the 59 seats that voted on 3 November, leading to its party workers holding celebrations in various states.

The Congress suffered a setback in Gujarat where the saffron party won all eight seats and the BJP also dominated the MP bypolls by wresting 19 of the 28 seats that went to the polls in the first pan-India electoral exercise in the pandemic, according to the Election Commisison's data till 10.30 pm.

Overall, the Congress, which had sitting MLAs in over 40 seats, won 12 seats. The JD(U) won the Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha by-election in Bihar with 38.1 percent vote share.

Related Articles

AWOL for years, over 60 Bihar govt employees issued notice

Korean man impresses internet with his 'perfect' Bihari accent; video goes viral

Prime  Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to thank the voters in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, saying that the results will encourage the BJP to step up its efforts. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the victory was a reflection of the people friendly-development policies of the prime minister.

Saffron party dominates Madhya Pradesh

All eyes were on Madhya Pradesh — where as many as 28 seats were up for grabs — after the state earlier this year saw the BJP coming to power following a revolt by a section of Congress MLAs.

The BJP government, which needed eight MLAs for a simple majority, has won 19 out the 28 Assembly seats in MP. In the 230-member Assembly, the BJP tally has increased to 123, breaching the simple majority mark of 116 and providing stability to the government.

The BJP won Bhander, Bamori, Ashok Nagar, Mungaoli, Surkhi, Anuppur, Sanchi, Hatpipalya, Mandhata, Nepanagar, Badnawar, Gohad, Gwalior, and Suwasara constituencies. The Congress has won Morena, Biora, Dabra, Sumauli, Dimani and Agar Assembly segments.

BJP minister Dr Prabhuram Choudhary won the bypolls from Sanchi with a margin of 63,809 votes — the highest in the by-election. The lowest victory margin recorded so far is 161 in Bhander where BJP candidate Raksha Saronia defeated Dalit leader Phool Singh Bariaya of the Congress.

Besides Choudhary, other ministers who won the election are Govind Singh Rajput (from Surkhi seat), Mahendra Singh Sisodia (Bamori), Bisahulal Singh (Anuppur), Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon (Badnawar), Hardeep Singh Dung (Suwasara) and Brajendra Singh Yadav (Mungaoli).

Imarti Devi, who was attacked by Kamal Nath's with his infamous 'item' jibe has lost the poll to Congress' Suresh Raje.

Reacting to the results, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the outcome proves voters supported the decision taken by Congress MLAs to pull down the previous Kamal Nath dispensation. "It has been proved today that the public has supported the decision taken by our MLA colleagues under the leadership of (Jyotiraditya Scindia (BJPs Rajya Sabha MP) to pull down the (Kamal Nath) government," Chouhan told party workers in his address as bypoll results poured in.

Alleging rampant corruption under the previous Congress government, Chouhan said the outcome is a defeat of "ego and arrogance".

On the other hand, MP Congress president Kamal Nath accepted the defeat and said the party made efforts to reach out to people. "We accept the mandate. We made every effort to reach out to voters. I also thank all voters who participated in the by-elections. "I hope that the BJP government will take care of the interest of farmers, provide employment to the youth, maintain the respect and safety of women," Nath said in a tweet.

In March this year, 22 Congress MLAs, mostly loyalists of Scindia, had resigned from the party and the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. This led to the collapse of the Nath government and cleared the way for the BJP to again come to power. Scindia and his loyalists then joined the BJP, with many of them becoming ministers in the Chouhan government.

By-elections were held on 28 constituencies - 25 of which fell vacant due to resignations by sitting Congress MLAs who joined the BJP earlier this year. The remaining three seats were unrepresented due to death of sitting MLAs

BJP sweeps Gujarat bypolls

In a clean sweep, the ruling BJP won all the eight Assembly seats in Gujarat where by-elections 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 will 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.

They are Pradhyumansinh Jadeja (who won from Abdasa seat), Brjesh Merja (Morbi), Akshay Patel (Karjan), Jitu Chaudhari (Kaprada) and JV Kakadiya (Dhari).

In Abdasa in Kutch district, a seat having a sizeable number of Muslim voters, BJP's Jadeja defeated his closest rival, Shantilal Senghani of the Congress, by a margin of 36,778 votes. In a closely-contested bypoll on the Morbi seat in Morbi district, BJP's Merja defeated Congress candidate Jayantilal Patel by a margin of 4,649. While Merja received 64,711 votes, Patel got 60,062.

On the Karjan seat in Vadodara district, BJP's Akshay Patel won by a margin of 16,425 votes. While Akshay Patel garnered 76,958 votes, Congress candidate Kiritisinh Jadeja got 60,533.

On the Limbdi seat in Surendranagar district, former minister Kiritsinh Rana of the BJP, who lost in 2017, won with a comfortable margin of 32,050 votes. He defeated Congress' Chetan Khachar. On the Dhari seat in Amreli district, BJP's JV Kakadiya defeated Congress' Suresh Kotadiya with over 17,209 votes.

On the Scheduled Tribe-reserved Dangs seat, BJP candidate Vijay Patel was declared the winner by the Election Commission. Vijay Patel defeated Congress' Suryakant Gavit with a huge margin of 60,095 votes, the highest amongst all bypolls seats.

On the Kaprada (ST) seat in Valsad district, BJP's Chaudhari defeated Babu Patel of the Congress. Chaudhari's winning margin was 47,066 votes. On the Gadhada (SC) seat in Botad district, BJP's Dalit leader and former minister Atmaram Parmar, who had lost in the 2017 election, defeated Mohan Solanki of the Congress with a comfortable margin of over 22,595 votes.

Jubilant over the BJP's victory, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani termed the results as a "trailer" for the upcoming local bodies elections as well as the 2022 Assembly elections in Gujarat and said the voters rejected the Congress' negative campaign.

"Today the BJP is victorious across the country, whether it's Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh or Gujarat. Everywhere it is the result of work done by the Central Government under the leadership of  Modi, and people's support and trust in the BJP," Rupani said in his first reaction after the trends showed the BJP was heading towards victory in all the seats.

"As I said earlier, these by-elections will prove to be the last nail in the Congress' coffin," Rupani said. Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda conceded the party's defeat but said the results were contrary to its expectation that voters will teach a lesson to the BJP for indulging in horse-trading and using money power.

In the past, the BJP has repeatedly rejected Congress allegations of horse-trading and using money power to achieve political ends.

"Primary reason for our defeat is the BJP's policy of 'sham, dam, dand and bhed' (manipulation, use of money, harassment, blackmail), its misuse of power and administration, money, its hunger for power without care for any democratic values," said Chavda at a press conference.

BJP retains hold on UP

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP retained six seats and the SP hung on to its Malhani constituency, the 6:1 outcome indicating 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, according to the Election Commission. Samajwadi Party's Lucky Yadav won Malhani, the seat which was represented by his father Parasnath Yadav, whose death necessitated the by-election. He defeated independent candidate Dhananjay Singh by 4,632 votes.

A tough see-saw battle was fought for the Naugawan Sadat seat held earlier by Chetan Chauhan, the former cricketer and minister in Yogi Adityanath's government, who succumbed to COVID-19. SP's Javed Abbas, who was trailing in the morning pushed his BJP rival, Chetan Chauhan's wife Sangeeta Chauhan, to the second spot by 3,314 votes for a while. The BJP candidate at one point had a slim 175-vote lead, but later cruised ahead to win by 15,077 votes.

BJP candidate Satyaprakash Mani Tripathi won Deoria, defeating SP's Brahma Shankar Tripathi by 20,089 votes. Unnao's Bangermau seat also went to the ruling party with Shrikant Katiyar defeating Congress candidate Arti Bajpai by 31,398 votes.

In Bulandshahr, BJP's Usha Sirohi defeated Bahujan Samaj Party's Mohammad Yunus by 21,072 votes. Her party colleague Upendra Nath Paswan won against Congress candidate Kripa Shankar by 23,820 votes in Ghatampur, which fell vacant after state minister Kamal Rain Varun died of the coronavirus. BJP's Prempal Singh Dhangar defeated SP's Mahraj Singh Dhangar by 17,683 votes in Tundla seat.

The Bangarmau seat in Unnao was vacated by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar after his conviction in a rape case. The bypolls to the Bulandshahr and Deoria seats were necessitated by the deaths of BJP MLAs Virendra Singh Sirohi and Janmejay Singh. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party had fielded Mohammad Yameen from Bulandshahr to test its electoral popularity.

The Allahabad High Court had asked the Election Commission to also hold bypolls in Suar after annulling the election of Abdullah Azam Khan, son of SP MP Mohammad Azam Khan, ruling that he was underage. But the Supreme Court recently stayed its directions.

Manipur

in Manipur, the BJP bagged three of the four seats whose results were declared on Tuesday. BJP candidates Oinam Lukhoi Singh and Paonam Brojen Singh won the Wangoi seat and Wangjing Tentha seats, respectively. BJP's Ngamthang Haokip defeated Congress candidate Lamtinthang Haokip by 12,257  votes in Saitu.

In Singhat Assembly constituency, BJP candidate Ginsuanhau was declared elected unopposed and he has already been sworn in as an MLA recently.

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

BJP wrests two seats in Karnataka

The BJP also swept the Karnataka Assembly bypolls by wresting two seats from Opposition Congress and JD(S), giving a boost to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's stock amid talks about his replacement in some quarters.

With these victories, the strength of BJP will rise to 118 in the 225-member Assembly that would still have two vacancies caused by, including by the recent death of a member. Congress has 67 members, JDS 33, BSP one, while there is one nominated member and two Independents besides the Speaker.

It is seen as a setback for Opposition leaders, especially Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar as it was the first election in the state under his leadership.

In the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly segment, N Munirathna scored a hat-trick, winning by an impressive margin of more than 58,000 votes. This is the third victory in a row for Munirathna, and his first as the BJP candidate. He had won the seat in 2013 and 2018 Assembly polls on the Congress' ticket by a margin of over 18,800 votes and 5,400 votes, respectively. Munirathna, after his disqualification last year, had joined the BJP.

The ruling party— despite stiff resistance from a section within — gave him ticket after he was cleared by the courts from the charges of alleged election malpractices.

In Sira, it was a history of sorts for the BJP as it recorded its first-ever victory there with its candidate Dr CM Rajesh Gowda securing the seat by a margin of over 13,400 votes. Gowda secured 76,564 votes, while his opponent Congress leader TB Jayachandra (71), a six-time MLA and former minister, got 63,150 votes.

Though it was known that the results of the polls will have no bearing on the stability of the BJP government, the outcome was perceived in many quarters as a reflection on the performance of the BS Yediyurappa government, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is the victory of the people and by ensuring BJP's victory they have exuded confidence and support towards the state government and its handling of flood situation and corona pandemic," Yediyurappa said, thanking voters for the party's success in both the constituencies.

He also promised to fulfill the promises made to the people during the campaign and said that with Modi's blessings, he will work towards completion of all the developmental works, in the remaining two-and-half years.

Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar accepted responsibility for the party's defeat in the bypolls and asked the cadre not to be disheartened.

Noting that he did not expect such a huge margin in RR Nagar, he also expressed surprise over the BJP polling new votes in Sira.

Leader of the opposition in the state Assembly Siddaramaiah, while conceding defeat, alleged "this is the defeat of democracy, as this is a victory for illicitly earned money and misuse of administrative machinery".

JMM, Congress retain Jharkhand seats

The JMM-led ruling coalition of Jharkhand retained Dumka and Bermo Assembly seats in the by- elections 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 the Dumka seat.

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

In the 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.

BJP registers victory in two Odisha seats

The ruling Biju Janata Dal won both seats which went to the polls in Odisha. BJD's Bijaya Shankar Das trounced BJP candidate Rajkishore Behera by 41,7013 votes in Tirtol seat in Jagatsinghpur district, while in Balasore, BJD nominee Swarup Kumar Das registered a victory over BJP rival Manas Kumar Dutta by 13,351 votes.

The deaths of Balasore's BJP MLA Madan Mohan Dutta and Tirtol's BJD legislator Bishnu Charan Das necessitated the by-elections

Congress retains Baroda in Haryana

The Opposition Congress retained the Baroda Assembly seat in Haryana after its candidate Indu Raj Narwal defeated BJP nominee and Olympian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt by a margin of 10,566 votes. According to officials, Narwal polled 60,636 votes against Dutt's 50,070.

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.

He had won the constituency thrice in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

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.

The former chief minister said the result of the elections has shown that the public has become disenchanted with the BJP-JJP government and had passed a no-confidence motion against them.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said he bows to each BJP worker for his hard work in Baroda and commended 'panna parmukhs', booth presidents, and office-bearers of the party for conveying the development policies of the government to people in the challenging times of COVID-19.

Congress strengthens presence in Chhattisgarh

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

Congress candidate Dr KK Dhruw defeated the BJP's Dr Gambheer Singh by 38,197 votes. Dhruw polled 83,561 votes while Singh secured 45,364 votes.

It was for the first time since Ajit Jogi won the  Marwahi seat in 2001 that no member of his family was in the fray, as the election authority rejected the nomination papers of his son, JCC (J) president Amit Jogi, and Amit's wife Richa Jogi for invalid caste certificates.

With this victory, the tally of the Congress in the 90-member Assembly has gone up to 70.

Saffron party wrests Telangana's Dubbak seat

BJP candidate M Raghunandan Rao won the by-election to the Dubbak Assembly constituency in Telangana.  He defeated his nearest rival Solipeta Sujatha of the ruling TRS by 1,079 votes. Rao got 63,352 votes, while Sujatha secured 62,273 votes.

The seat fell vacant due to the death of sitting TRS MLA Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy in August this year and the ruling party fielded his widow Sujatha as its candidate.

Nagaland bypolls

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. 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.

In Pungro-Kiphire, the ruling People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) suffered a debacle as its BJP nominee Lirimong Sangtam stood in the third position. T Yangseo Sangtam, who fought the election as an Independent, won the seat by a margin of 1,527 votes, an Election Commission official said.

With inputs from PTI