Counting ended on November 2 for the October 30 by-polls and looks like the All India Trinamool Congress has swept all four assembly seats in West Bengal. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and its ally the United People Party Liberal (UPPL) have won all five assembly seats that went to polls in Assam.
On Saturday, bypolls were held in three Lok Sabha seats and 29 Assembly constituencies across 13 states and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Lok Sabha seats:
The Lok Sabha seats for which by-polls were held were as follows:
– Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh) where the BJP was leading with nearly 50 percent of the vote as per the official Election Commission website at the time of going to press,
– Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) where the Indian National Congress won by the skin of its teeth, and,
– the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli where Shiv Sena won, cornering nearly 60 percent of the vote share.
Elections were necessitated after sitting MPs passed away. It was particularly crucial in Madhya Pradesh where Adivasis have been facing forced evictions, harassment and general apathy from the administration.
Assembly seats:
In Andhra Pradesh’s Badvel assembly constituency, D Sudha of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party was leading at the time of going to press.
In Assam’s Gossaigaon, UPPL’s Jiron Basumatary won less than 40 percent of the vote share, while his fellow UPPL member Jolen Daimary won nearly 60 percent of the vote share in Tamulpur. BJP’s Phanidhar Talukdar won in Bhapanipur with over 56 percent of the vote share. While Rupjyoti Kurmi swept Mariani with over 62 percent of the vote, Sushanta Burgohain won almost the same percentage in Thowra.
Meanwhile in Bihar’s Kusheshwar, Janata Dal (United)’s Aman Bhushan Hajari won, and Tarapur saw a tight match with JD(U)’s Rajeev Kumar Singh snatching victory by a narrow margin over Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Arun Kumar.
In Haryana’s Ellenabad, Indian National Lok Dal’s Abhay Singh Chautala won over 43 percent of the vote, beating BJP’s Gobind Kanda.
In Himachal Pradesh’s Arki, Sanjay from the INC won over 50 percent of the vote, leaving BJP’s Ratan Singh Pal in the dust. INC also won in Fatehpur with Bhawani Singh Patania getting over 42 percent of the vote, beating BJP’s Baldev Thakur. INC’s Rohit Thakur swept Jubbal-Kothai with over 50 percent of the vote.
In Karnataka’s Hangal, INC’s Shrinivas Mane won over 50 percent of the vote defeating BJP’s SS Sajjanar. In Sindgi, BJP’s BR Balappa swept the polls with over 57 percent of the vote share.
In Madhya Pradesh’s Jobat, BJP’s Sulochana Rawat won by a narrow margin, while in Prithvipur the party’s Dr. S Yadav won over 53 percent of the vote. In Raigaon, INC’s Kalmapna Verma won by the skin of her teeth, defeating BJP’s Pratima Bagri by a narrow margin.
In Maharashtra’s Deglur, AJ Raosaheb of the Congress won. In Meghalaya’s Mawphlang, United Democratic Party’s E Lyngdoh won over 48 percent of the vote share, in Mawryngkneng National People’s Party’s PS Syiem won nearly 50 percent of the vote.
In Rajasthan’s Vallabhnagar, INC’s Preeti Shekhawayt won with just over 35 percent of the vote. In Telangana’s Huzurabad, BJP’s E Rajender won with over 51 percent of the votes.
TMC swept West Bengal’s all four constituencies: Dinhata with over 84 percent, Gosaba with over 87 percent, Khardaha with 73 pecent, and Santipur with a relatively modest 54 percent of the vote share! The opposition has been forced to now acknowledge the power of the All India Trinamool Congress, a party that is already showing nation-wide ambitions.
Three-cornered contests galore!
In Rajabala in Meghalaya, National People’s Party’s Md. Abdus Saleh emerged victorious after a tight three-cornered contest with the United Democratic Party and INC.
In Mizoram’s Tuirial, Mizo National Front’s K Laldawngliana won in a tight three-cornered fight against the Zoram People’s Movement and the INC.
It was once against a three-cornered contest in Rajasthan’s Dhariawad where INC’s Nagraj won despite tough competition from BJP’s Khet Singh and Thawarchand, an independent candidate.
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