UP bypolls: BJP leader wins Muslim majority seat by 1.44 lakh votes

Like all politicians, Bharatiya Janata Party's Ramveer Singh dreamt of ending the losing streak of his party, but little did he know his victory would be so stylised, featuring a rout by 1.44 lakh votes of his nearest rival.

Singh won the Kundarki assembly constituency, a seat BJP had been losing since 1993, defeating Samajwadi Party's Mohammad Rizwan, who bagged 25,580.

His victory assumed more significance as it came against an all-Muslim lineup in a constituency where around 60 per cent of the electorate comes from the community.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed it a victory of nationalism.

"What was once a dream has become a reality today," he said on Saturday after the results were announced.

Singh claimed that when the seat became vacant, he was approached by hundreds of Muslims, who urged him to contest the bypoll.

Bypolls in Kundarki were necessitated following the election of its sitting MLA, SP's Ziaur Rehman, as the Lok Sabha MP from Sambhal parliamentary constituency earlier this year.

"I was expecting a victory margin of 50,000 to 60,000. But workers told me I would win by more than 1 lakh votes. People had a feeling of love towards me. They were disappointed by the SP, as cases were framed against lakhs of people, and thousands of them were put behind bars during the SP rule from 2012 to 2017," Singh said.

"When the seat got vacated, hundreds of Muslims came to me and asked me to seek a ticket. 'We will make you an MLA, we have made up our mind,' they said. Because they requested, I remained active, and the party leadership also listened to the voice of the people," he said.

To Rizwan, who alleged that the elections were rigged, Singh said he was hiding his failure.

"He can get the election conducted once again. He will know what his worth is," Singh said.

On Saturday, when the results were announced, Rizwan contested the mandate, alleging booths were captured.

"It is not the defeat of the Samajwadi -- people did not vote here and the booths were looted," he told PTI.

Rizwan served as Kundarki MLA in 2002, 2012, and 2017.

The Muslim-dominated seat in west UP's Moradabad was a test of BJP's Hindu unity plank.

The party's campaign in the bypolls largely revolved around 'Ram aur Rashtra' against the opposition Samajwadi Party's bid to consolidate the OBC-Dalit-Muslim vote bank.

The win came as a salve for the BJP, which suffered a massive cut in seats in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier in the year.

It won six of the nine Assembly seats in the state where bypolls were held on November 20.

Adding to BJP's emphatic performance, its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal clinched Meerapur, the lone seat it contested. The Samajwadi Party emerged victorious on the remaining two seats -- Karhal and Sishamau.

Besides Kundarki, the BJP emerged victorious in Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair (SC), Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan assembly constituencies.