Assembly bypolls: INDIA bloc secures 10 seats, BJP settles for 2, independent candidate wins 1
New Delhi: In a major boost for the INDIA bloc, its constituents secured victory in 10 out of 13 assembly seats contested across seven states during Saturday's by-elections. The BJP managed to capture two seats, with an Independent candidate clinching one, as the votes were tallied.
The Congress claimed four seats, two in BJP-governed Uttarakhand and two in Himachal Pradesh. Meanwhile, the TMC swept all four seats in West Bengal, while AAP triumphed in Punjab's Jalandhar West and DMK emerged victorious in Tamil Nadu's Vikravandi constituency.
Notably, voting for these seats took place on July 10.
The Congress expressed satisfaction with the outcome, asserting that it reflects a shifting political landscape in the country, declaring that the BJP's aura of dominance has been shattered.
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal and TMC leader, thanked the electorate, dedicating the victories in the by-elections and the recent Lok Sabha polls to the party's "martyrs."
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin praised the INDIA bloc's performance, cautioning the BJP to heed the lessons from its defeats, emphasizing the importance of respecting regional sentiments in governance.
In Uttarakhand, Congress's Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin secured the Manglaur seat for the fourth time, narrowly defeating BJP's Kartar Singh Bhadana by 422 votes. The BSP, which had won the seat in the 2022 assembly polls, slipped to third place.
In Badrinath, first-time Congress candidate Lakhapat Butola caused an upset by defeating BJP's Rajendra Bhandari by 5,224 votes. Meanwhile, Congress's Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, triumphed over BJP's Hoshiyar Singh in Dehra by 9,399 votes, and Hardeep Singh Bawa secured Nalagarh by a margin of 8,990 votes.
However, BJP's Ashish Sharma won the Hamirpur seat, defeating Congress's Pushpinder Verma.
The Congress, after losing six MLAs to BJP defections, has now regained its 2022 assembly election tally, bolstered by four bypoll victories held concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections in June and two more in the recent by-elections.
This round of bypolls in Himachal Pradesh also marks a historic first, with both Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu and his wife Kamlesh Thakur set to be members of the state assembly, and for the first time, the assembly will not have any Independent MLA.
In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav celebrated BJP's retention of public trust, while in West Bengal, TMC continued its winning streak from the Lok Sabha polls, securing significant victories across the state.
Punjab's ruling AAP retained the Jalandhar West seat, reinforcing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's popularity. In Tamil Nadu, DMK's Anniyur Siva triumphed over NDA's Ambumani C in Vikravandi by a margin of 67,757 votes.
In Bihar, Independent candidate Shankar Singh clinched the Rupauli seat, defeating JD(U)'s Kaladhar Prasad Mandal by 8,246 votes.
PTI