BJP suffers crushing defeat in by-elections

The saffron party loses all assembly seats in Bengal and Himachal; Cong beats it in Hangal, Karnataka

The BJP suffered a crushing defeat in the bypolls held on October 30, losing all four assembly seats in West Bengal and three in Himachal Pradesh. In Karnataka, the  party won the Sindgi constituency, but lost Hangal to the Congress. In Rajasthan, the BJP accepted defeat, with the party’s state chief Satish Poonia saying it was “circumstantial” and depended on “local equations”. Elections to three Lok Sabha seats and 29 assembly constituencies across 13 states and a UT were held on October 30.

West Bengal

The TMC wrested the Dinhata and Santipur seats in Coochbehar and Nadia districts, respectively, from the BJP by huge margins. The TMC’s tally in the 294-member WB assembly rose to 215, while that of the BJP dropped to 75 from 77. The TMC’s share stood at a staggering 75.02 per cent against BJP’s measly 14.48 per cent.

Rajasthan

The ruling Congress in Rajasthan won in Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad Assembly segments, pushing the opposition BJP to the third and fourth places there. Before the bypolls, the Dhariawad seat was represented by the BJP and Vallabhnagar by the Congress.

Himachal Pradesh

Invigorated by the victory in all three Assembly seats and the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, the opposition Congress demanded Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur’s resignation while the BJP said it will introspect the causes of its defeat. The Congress retained the Fatehpur and Arki Assembly seats while it wrested Jubbal-Kotkhai from the BJP.

Congress candidate from Mandi LS seat Pratibha Singh (centre) celebrates her victory, in Shimla. Pic/PTI

Karnataka

In Karnataka, BJP’s Bhusanur Balappa won the Sindgi constituency by 31,185 votes over Congress’s Ashok Mallappa Managuli. Congress’s Mane Shrinivar won the Hangal constituency by a margin of 7,373 votes over the BJP’s Shivaraj Sharanappa Sajjanar.

Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP snatched two assembly seats  — Jobat and Prithvipur — from the Congress but lost a sitting seat — Raigaon — to the opposition party. It also won the Khandwa LS seat.

Assam

The BJP and its ally UPPL won all five seats in Assam with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s ploy of having three sitting Congress MLAs to cross over to the saffron camp paying off, as all of them won on its ticket with big margins.

Meghalaya

In Meghalaya, the National People’s Party (NPP) wrested Rajabala and Mawryngkneng seats from the Congress, while the United Democratic Party, a partner in the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government, emerged victorious in Mawphlang.

Haryana

Indian National Lok Dal’s leader Abhay Singh Chautala won the Ellenabad bypoll after defeating his nearest rival, Gobind Kanda of the BJP, with a margin of 6,739 votes. Main opposition Congress’s candidate trailed at the third spot.

Bihar

The ruling JD(U) in Bihar retained both Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan seats. It won Tarapur with a slender margin of less than 4,000 votes, while it bagged the Kusheshwar Asthan seat by a comfortable margin of over 12,000 votes.

Andhra Pradesh

The ruling YSR Congress defeated the BJP in the Badvel (SC) Assembly seat in Andhra Pradesh, securing a record margin of 90,533 votes.

Telangana

BJP candidate Eatala Rajender defeated TRS’s Gellu Srinivas Yadav in Huzurabad, Telangana, with a margin of 23,855 votes. When the counting was underway, BJP’s Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy had said, “BJP is the only party that can counter misrule and misdeed of the TRS.”

‘BJP’s exit is written on the wall’

Sanjay Dutt, Congress leader

‘This is a vote for change, against the anti-people policies of the BJP’s central and Himachal Pradesh governments. It is a mandate expressing people’s solidarity with the pro-people stance of our leaders Soniaji and Rahul Gandhi ji’

Jai Ram Thakur, CM, Himachal Pradesh

‘The BJP will introspect the causes which led to its defeat, will formulate a strategy to overcome its shortcomings and do everything possible to ensure victory in the 2022 assembly elections’

Randeep Surjewala, general secretary, Congress

‘Modi ji, Shed arrogance. Repeal the three ‘black laws’. Stop Petrol-Diesel-Gas loot. Disdain for people’s pain is harmful. The BJP’s exit is written on the wall’

1.64L
The vote margin by which BJP lost in Bengal’s Dinhata assembly constituency

7,490
The vote margin by which BJP lost Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh

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