Bypolls: BJP wins 41 out of 59 bypoll seats

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday swept the assembly by-elections held last week, winnin 41 of 59 seats across 11 states, including Madhya Pradesh, according to Election Commission trends.

The votes for the November 3 by-elections were counted along with the ballots for the Bihar polls and progressed in accordance with Election Commission guidelines restricting the number of people in counting halls, officials said. Extensive measures were taken to ensure social distancing.

MADHYA PRADESH

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh won 19 out of the 28 assembly constituencies, where bypolls were held on November 3, giving it a comfortable majority in the House and providing stability to its eight-month-old government in the state.

The opposition Congress clinched nine seats.

With this, the BJP now has 126 MLAs in the 230-member House, while the Congress has 96 legislators.

Due to the resignation of one more Congress MLA recently, the effective strength of the House is 229 at present.

The comfortable victory of the BJP, which needed only eight seats to have a full majority on its own in the 229- member House, will not only provide stability to the party-led government in the state, but also further cement the position of senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress earlier this year and joined the saffron party.

Out of the 12 ministers who contested the bypolls, three were defeated by the Congress candidates.

Prominent among them is woman minister Imarti Devi, who lost from Dabra by a margin of 7,633 votes.

BJP minister Girraj Dandotia lost from Dimani by a margin of 26,467 votes.

Another minister Adal Singh Kansana bit the dust from Sumaoli constituency by a margin of 10,947 votes.

Scindia loyalist Tulsi Silawat won from Sanver by a margin of 53,264 votes.

BJP minister OPS Bhadoria won from Mehgaon by a margin of 12,036 votes.

The saffron party's Munna Lal Goyal lost by a margin of 8,555 votes against Congress Dr Satish Sikarwar from Gwalior-East.

Out of the 22 MLAs who had quit the then ruling Congress in March this year in support of Scindia's move of leaving the party, 15 emerged victorious, while seven others, including three ministers, lost the poll battle.

Though Congress left no stone unturned to portray Scindia as "traitor" because of his rebellion against the then chief minister Kamal Nath government that paved the way for the return of the BJP government in the state, the campaign plank failed to find much traction among voters.

Scindia has repeatedly said his decision to quit the Congress was driven by "failure" of the erstwhile Nath government to fulfil promises made to people, especially farmers.

"The victory of BJP in these by-polls will certainly strengthen Scindia's position in the BJP at the Centre," a political expert said.

Though the BJP fared well in 19 of these 28 seats, it suffered losses in the Gwalior-Chambal region as three of its ministers Adal Singh Kansana from Sumaoli, Imarti Devi from Dabra, whom Nath had termed "item" in the run-up to the bypolls, and Girraj Dandotia from Dimani, faced defeat.

The BJP had a narrow win in Bhander, where its nominee Raksha Santram Saronia defeated popular Dalit leader Phool Singh Baraiya by a margin of 161 votes.

Besides, a Scindia supporter also lost in Karera in Shivpuri district.

Scindia's supporters won decisively in the assembly constituencies of Bamori, Mungaoli and Ashok Nagar, which are part of Guna Lok Sabha seat.

Besides, among the six ministers that resigned from the Congress along with Scindia, only Imarti Devi lost in bypoll while his loyalists like Tulsiram Silawat, Mahendra Singh Sisodia, Govind Singh Rajput, Dr Prabhuram Choudhary and Pradyumna Singh Tomar won decisively from their respective constituencies.

Choudhary created a record by winning with a highest margin 63,809 votes from Sanchi (SC) seat.

BJP got 49.46 per cent vote share against the Congress's 40.40 in these bypolls.

GUJARAT

In a clean sweep, the ruling BJP on Tuesday 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.

Voting for the eight seats was held on November 3 and counting of ballots was taken up on Tuesday.

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.

Jubilant over the BJP 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's
negative campaign.

"Today the BJP is victorious across the country, whether is is Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh or Gujarat.

"Everywhere it is the result of work done by the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and people's support and trust in the BJP," Rupani said.

UTTAR PRADESH

The BJP retained six seats and the Samajwadi Party hung on to its Malhani constituency in the bypolls for seven assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, 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 who was a minister in Yogi Adityanath's BJP government.

With the BJP and the SP retaining their seats, the 403-member assembly will now again have 310 MLAs from the BJP and 49 from the SP.

MANIPUR

BJP candidates won two seats while an Independent candidate bagged one in the by-election to four Manipur Assembly constituencies, the results of which were announced on Tuesday, officials said.

BJP candidates Oinam Lukhoi Singh and Paonam Brojen Singh won the Wangoi seat and Wangjing Tentha seats respectively, they said.

Oinam Lukho Singh defeated his nearest rival Khuraijam Loken Singh of the National People's Party by 257 votes while Paonam Brojen Singh trounced his nearest Congress rival Moirangthem Hemanta Singh by 1,560 votes.

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

BJP candidate Ngamthang Haokip was ahead of his Congress rival Lamtinthang Haokip by 7,661 votes in the Saitu seat.

The by-polls held on November 7 were necessitated after Congress MLAs of these 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.

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

KARNATAKA

The ruling BJP on Tuesday swept the bypolls to two assembly seats in Karnataka by wresting them from opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular.

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 in the state under his stewardship.

With this victories, the strength of BJP will rise to 118 in the 225-member assembly that would still have two vacancies caused by, including by a recent death of a member.

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, it was history of sorts for the BJP 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.

JHARKHAND

The JMM-led ruling coalition of Jharkhand retained Dumka and Bermo assembly seats in 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 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.

ODISHA

The ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha on Tuesday wrested the Balasore assembly seat from the BJP and retained Tirtol in the bypolls held last week, with its candidates beating the BJP nominees and pushing the Congress to the third place.

As the Biju Janata Dal candidates emerged victories in both the assembly segments, chief minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his gratitude to the people for exercising their franchise amid the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting his party.

In Balasore, BJD candidate Swarup Kumar Das defeated his nearest BJP nominee Manas Kumar Dutta by a margin of 13,351 votes. Das bagged 84,097 votes while Dutta polled 70,746 votes, Chief Electoral Officer S K Lohani said.

Congress candidate Mamata Kundu was relegated to the third place, securing 4,983 votes in Balasore, which had emerged as a stronghold of the BJP, whose candidate late Madan Mohan Dutta had won the 2019 assembly elections.

In the Tirtol assembly segment in Jagatsinghpur district, BJD's Bijay Shankar Das trounced BJP candidate Rajkishore Behera by a margin of 41,703 votes

While Das polled 88,310 votes, Behera bagged 46,607 votes. Congress nominee Himanshu Bhushan Mallick got 28,778 votes, Lohani said.

By-election was held in Tirtol, a traditional stronghold of the BJD, as sitting MLA Bishnu Charan Das died. It was BJD's fourth win in the seat.

The BJD candidate, who is the son of late Bishnu Charan Das, secured 52.91 per cent of the 1,66,921 votes polled in the by-election.

In Balasore, the bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Madan Mohan Dutta.

The BJD candidate secured 51.8 per cent of the 1,62,339 votes polled in the bypoll, defeating Dutta, the son of the late legislator.

It was the maiden assembly election for both the winning candidates.

HARYANA

In a big win for the Congress, its candidate Indu Raj Narwal defeated the BJP's candidate, Olympian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, in the Baroda assembly seat in BJP-ruled Haryana.

The Congress retained the seat with Narwal winning by over 10,000 votes, said officials.

"The victory of Indu Raj Narwal is a win of farmers and labourers. I assure residents of Baroda that the Congress will live up to their expectations," tweeted Congress leader Kumari Selja.

CHHATTISGARH

The ruling Congress won the Marwahi Assembly bypoll in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, an election official said.

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 May 29.

Congress candidate Dr K K Dhruw won the bypoll to the constituency, located in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi 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.

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.

The BJP has suffered a third consecutive defeat in assembly bypolls held after the 2018 assembly elections.

TELANGANA

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

"BJP candidate won by 1,079 votes," Siddipet district Collector Bharati Hollikeri said.

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.

The counting of votes reminded one of a T-20 cricket match as the lead position kept changing between the BJP and TRS, but the saffron party candidate had the last laugh.

NAGALAND

Ruling National Democratic Progressive Party 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.

Yhokha, of Kigwema village in Kohima district, is the former president of the Angami Students' Union and Angami Youth Organisation. He was also the press and information secretary of the Angami Public Organisation and chairman of the Inner Line Regulation Committee of Naga Students' Federation.

Yhokha, 43, was also the public relations officer of Yhoshu until his death.

In Pungro-Kiphire, the ruling People's Democratic Alliance 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.

Sangtam got 8,747 votes, defeating his nearest rival S Kiusumew Yimchunger, also an Independent, he said.

Yimchunger got 7,220 votes, while BJP's Lirimong got 5,664 votes, he added.

Another Independent candidate, K Shellumthong Yimchuger, got 5,388 votes and Congress nominee Khaseo Anar could manage only 347 votes.

Yangseo, 39, hails from the Kiphire village. Sources close to him said that he is likely to extend support to the ruling coalition in the state.