Bypoll results 2019: Congress' Safiya Zubair wins Ramgarh by 12,000 votes; BJP bags Jind for first time with Krishan Middha's victory

Prior to the 2019 General Election to Lok Sabha, both the BJP and Congress secured one Assembly seat each in Haryana and Rajasthan, respectively, on Thursday. While the Congress — soon after winning the Rajasthan Assembly election on 7 December — bagged the Ramgarh seat in Rajasthan, the BJP won the crucial Jind seat in Haryana. With the Ramgarh win, Congress has touched the halfway mark in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly with its candidate Safiya Zubair Khan defeating her BJP rival by a margin of over 12,000 votes. “The Congress candidate won the seat by defeating her nearest rival of the BJP with a margin of 12,228 votes,” state election department officials said. [caption id=“attachment_6000321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Safiya Khan after winning the elections. By Rajendra Sharma/101Reporters[/caption] “Zubair secured 44.77 percent votes against BJP candidate Sukhwant Singh’s 38.20 percent, according to officials. With the results of the Ramgarh Assembly poll, Congress now has 100 MLAs in the House and its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has one MLA. On the other hand, the BJP now has 73 members in the Rajasthan Assembly. A total of 20 candidates had contested the 28 January election in Ramgarh. The remaining 18 candidates, including Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Jagat Singh- got their security forfeited. Jagat is the son of former union minister Natwar Singh. The number of None Of The Above (NOTA) votes polled was 241, including one from the ballot. Rajasthan Congress president and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said, “This is a vote of confidence yet again by the people of Rajasthan towards the Congress party.” “It was the first election after the government’s formation and the result is an indication that BJP has lost the support they had,” Pilot told PTI. The election to the Ramgarh Assembly seat, which was won by the BJP in the 2013 state polls, could not be held along with other constituencies due to the death of the BSP candidate ahead of 7 December Rajasthan elections. Pilot alleged that the BJP tried to polarise communities on the basis of religion and caste in the elections but failed. “I thank the people of Ramgarh who have restored their faith and confidence by making the party win the seat,” he said. Newly-elected MLA Safiya said that she had sought votes on the agenda of development and communal harmony, and these resulted to her victory. “It was an election based on development. People want development and they know that voting for the Congress will ensure that the constituency gets proper development and focus,” 51-year-old Safiya, a former Zila Pramukh from Alwar, said. On the other hand, BJP’s Krishan Middha defeated closest rival Digvijay Singh Chautala of Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) in Jind after garnering 49,229 votes. Middha’s victory marked BJP’s first win in the constituency. The BJP candidate Middha took a lead over Chautala after the fourth round of counting. The bypoll in Jind was necessitated following the death of Middha’s father, sitting INLD MLA Hari Chan. [caption id=“attachment_6000781” align=“alignright” width=“380”] BJP’s Krishan Midhha garnered 49,229 votes in Jind, Haryana. ANI[/caption] Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala remained in the third spot throughout the counting process in Jind. Following his defeat, Surjewala said, “I hope (Chief Minister) Manohar Lal Khattar and Krishna Middha will fulfil the dreams of the people of Jind. I was given a responsibility by the party which I fulfilled to the best of my abilities, I congratulate Krishna Middha.” Twenty-one candidates, including two women, had contested the bypoll in Jind, which were held on 28 January. A healthy voter turnout of 75.77 per cent was reported in the by-election to the Jind Assembly constituency, dubbed as a prestige battle for the ruling BJP, the Congress and the INLD ahead of the parliamentary and Assembly polls. Loktantra Suraksha Party (LSP), which is led by BJP’s rebel MP Raj Kumar Saini, also entered the fray and fielded its candidate. The bypoll was held just months ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Haryana making it even more important. With inputs from PTI