Bawana, Delhi
The Aam Aadmi Party retained the city’s Bawana assembly constituency on Monday with a comfortable majority, leaping way ahead of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, as it staged a remarkable comeback from back-to-back electoral defeats in the recent past.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party’s candidate Ram Chander garnered 59,886 votes in the bypoll, salvaging some pride the AAP had lost in the civic polls and the Punjab and Goa elections before that.
The BJP, which had fielded AAP turncoat Ved Parkash as its candidate, finished a distant second with 35,834 votes, while the Congress’s Surender Kumar, a three-time former MLA from Bawana, trailed closely behind with 31,919 votes.
Eight candidates, including three Independents, were in the fray for the high-stakes bypoll which was held on August 23. The bypoll was necessitated after Ved Parkash resigned from the assembly and the AAP, to join the BJP.
The turnout was a meagre 45 per cent.
Bawana is one of the largest constituencies of Delhi with over 2.94 lakh electorates.
Of the total 1,31,950 votes polled, the AAP cornered 45.4 per cent, BJP 27.2 and Congress 24.2 per cent.
Goa
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday won the by-elections to two assembly seats in Goa, with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar emerging victorious from Panaji and health minister Vishwajit Rane from Valpoi.
It was crucial for the BJP to bag the two seats as it does not enjoy a majority on its own in the 40-member assembly.
Parrikar, who returned to the state from the Centre after the assembly elections in February, defeated his nearest rival, Congress's Girish Chodankar, by 4,803 votes.
As per the final results announced this morning, Parrikar polled 9,862 votes against 5,059 by Chodankar.
Goa Suraksha Manch president Anand Shirodkar polled 220 votes, while 301 people pressed None of The Above button in the August 23 election.
Chodankar, a senior leader of the Goa Congress, is a close aide of party vice president Rahul Gandhi.
Parrikar, who had been getting elected from Panaji constituency since 1994, had resigned in November 2014 to join the Union cabinet as defence minister.
BJP leader Sidharth Kuncolienkar, who won the subsequent by-poll from Panaji and retained the seat in the 2017 elections, stepped down to make way for Parrikar who returned to the state in March and formed a coalition government.
Parrikar said he was happy with the margin of his victory.
"I am thankful to the people of Panaji who elected me. It's a repeat of the 2012 assembly elections," he said, attributing the result to his performance and connection with the people.
Chodankar said he was grateful to the people of Panaji for their 'love and affection'.
"I might have lost but I have made a place in the hearts of the people of Panaji," he said.
BJP candidate and health minister Vishwajit Rane retained his Valpoi seat by defeating his nearest rival Roy Naik of the Congress by 10,066 votes. Rane had resigned as MLA after leaving the Congress.
With Monday's results, the BJP's strength in the House rises to 14.
The Congress has 16 MLAs, Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party three each, the Nationalist Congress Party one, while three are independent.
The BJP-led coalition comprises GFP, MGP and the three independents.
Nandyal, AP
The ruling Telugu Desam Party candidate Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy has won with a margin of over 27,000 votes for Nandyal assembly by-election in Andhra Pradesh.
In the counting on Monday, Reddy defeated his main rival Silpa Chandra Mohan Reddy of the Yuvajan, Shramika, Rythu Congress.
The by-election was held on August 23 following the death of sitting MLA Bhuma Nagi Reddy in March this year.
The TDP fielded Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy, his nephew, in the by-election.
