The results of by-elections to 29 assembly and three Lok Sabha seats in 14 states and one union territory were declared on Tuesday. In this, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with its allies has reaffirmed its dominance in the North-East including Assam. At the same time, in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress made a big difference in Himachal Pradesh. Congress has established its hold in Rajasthan. Let us tell you that the winner of a seat in Nagaland was declared unopposed on October 13.
The BJP has reason to rejoice in these by-elections in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, North-East and Telangana, where it has won several seats. However, for the saffron party, the performance in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Bengal has been worrying. Congress is feeling buoyed by its performance in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. In Karnataka, it has dealt a big blow by winning the seat in the home district of the current Chief Minister BS Bommai. However, its performance in Assam was disappointing.
Talking about Bihar, Janata Dal (United) has made a strong performance here. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) failed to win even a single seat here. Dadra and Nagar Haveli has become the first Lok Sabha seat for Shiv Sena outside Maharashtra. Also in Haryana, Abhay Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won back a seat vacated for protesting three controversial central agriculture laws.
This is the last round of bypolls before the assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, due early next year. Overall, the BJP and its allies won 16 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat. The Congress won eight assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat. Other opposition parties have won six assembly and one Lok Sabha seat.
Himachal Pradesh: Opposition Congress has won a landslide victory in the by-elections in Himachal Pradesh. It snatched Mandi Lok Sabha constituency and Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly constituency from the ruling BJP and retained Arki and Fatehpur assembly seats. Assembly elections are due in the state in November-December next year. The biggest reversal has happened in Mandi. Pratibha Singh, wife of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, won by 7,490 votes. In 2019, Ram Swaroop Sharma of BJP won the seat by 450,000 votes. The victory was a setback for Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. Mandi is considered to be the home ground of Thakur.
Assam and North-East: The BJP and its allies did their best in the North-East, where they won all 10 assembly seats in four states. By-elections were held in five seats in Assam. The ruling BJP won three. Its ally United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) won the other two seats.
In Meghalaya, candidates of the ruling National People's Party (NPP) won two of the three seats, while allies, The United Democratic Party (UDP), won the third seat. In Mizoram, ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate K Laldavangliana won the lone bypoll.
In Nagaland, the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) retained the Shamtore-Chesore assembly constituency and declared its candidate S Keoshu Yimchungar elected unopposed.
Bengal: TMC has performed brilliantly in the by-elections held in West Bengal. In the elections held in March-April, where the BJP won the Dinhata seat by 57 votes and Shantipur by 15,878 votes, it lost the bypolls by 160,000 and 64,675 votes respectively. The by-elections were held in these constituencies because the winners here did not take oath as MLAs to retain their Lok Sabha seats. The Dinhata seat was won by Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik.
Karnataka: In Karnataka, Chief Minister Bommai has suffered a major setback, Because Congress won in his home district Hangal constituency. Congress candidate Srinivas Mane won by 7373 votes. In life, the BJP won a landslide victory by defeating the Congress by more than 30,000 votes. The seat was earlier held by the Janata Dal (Secular), which ran a coalition government with the Congress between 2018 and 2019.
Telangana: In Telangana, the BJP snatched the Huzurabad assembly seat from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Former state health minister Eatala Rajender, who contested the bypoll on a BJP ticket, defeated TRS candidate Gelu Srinivas Yadav by 23,865 votes. In June this year, the by-election had to be held due to the resignation of Rajendra, who had left the TRS and joined the BJP. The Huzurabad by-election is being seen as an ego fight between the CM and Rajendra.
Bihar: In Bihar, JD(U) retained both Kusheshwar Sthan and Tarapur assembly seats. Despite a high-voltage attack by the RJD and fielding party chief Lalu Prasad for campaigning, it did not succeed. JD(U) candidate Aman Bhushan Hazari defeated RJD's Ganesh Bharti by 12,695 votes in Kusheshwar seat. In Tarapur, JD(U) candidate Rajiv Kumar Singh won by 3,821 votes.
Other results: The BJP won two seats- Jobat and Prithvipur (both Congress strongholds) in Madhya Pradesh and retained the Lok Sabha seat of Khandwa in the by-election. Congress won one seat from Raigaon after a period of 32 years.
In Rajasthan the opposition BJP lost both the assembly seats (Vallabhnagar and Dhariyawad) to the Congress. ranked fourth and third respectively.
In Haryana, INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala retained the Ellenabad seat by defeating his BJP rival Gobind Kanda by 6,739 votes. This is his fifth assembly victory from the rural Jat-dominated seat.
For the first time since its inception in the 1960s, the Shiv Sena will have an MP from outside Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena had fielded Kalaben Delkar here. She is the wife of Independent MP Late Mohan Delkar. He defeated his BJP rival Mahesh Gavit by 51,269 votes.
The ruling YSR Congress retained the Badvel assembly seat in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh by a record margin of 90,533 votes.
