In a significant victory for the opposition, the INDIA bloc clinched 10 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in two constituencies as votes were tallied for the bypolls in 13 assembly seats across seven states on Saturday.
Among the assembly segments that went to the polls on July 10, the Congress won the Dehra and Nalagarh seats in Himachal Pradesh but lost Hamirpur to the BJP.
In a high-profile contest, Congress had fielded Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu?s wife, Kamlesh Thakur, in Dehra. Thakur won decisively by a margin of 9,399 votes against BJP?s Hoshyar Singh. In the Nalagarh constituency, Congress? Hardeep Singh Bawa defeated BJP?s KL Thakur by a margin of 8,990 votes. However, the Hamirpur seat went to the BJP after its leader Ashish Sharma defeated his closest rival, Congress leader Pushpinder Verma, by 1,571 votes.
The three assembly seats fell vacant after Hoshyar Singh, Ashish Sharma, and KL Thakur, who were independent MLAs at the time, along with six Congress rebels, voted in favour of the BJP candidate in the February 27 Rajya Sabha elections. They subsequently joined the BJP on March 23 and petitioned the Himachal Pradesh High Court to direct the Speaker to accept their resignations.
In Uttarakhand, the Congress made significant gains, winning both contested seats. Congress? Lakhapat Singh Butola secured a victory in Badrinath, defeating BJP?s Rajendra Singh Bhandari by a margin of 5,224 votes. The Manglaur seat was claimed by Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin, who narrowly defeated BJP?s Kartar Singh Bhadana by 422 votes. These elections were necessitated by the resignation and death of previous MLAs, adding a layer of complexity to the political landscape.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a key partner in the INDIA bloc, also celebrated a victory. Mohinder Bhagat from Punjab?s Jalandhar West won by a significant margin, defeating BJP candidate Sheetal Angural by over 37,325 votes.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, made a strong showing, winning four assembly seats. Its candidates Krishna Kalyani, Mukut Mani Adhikari, Madhuparna Thakur, and Supti Pandey won from Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala respectively. The TMC had maintained a lead since the polls opened, showcasing its dominance in the region.
The BJP managed to secure the Amarwara seat in Madhya Pradesh, where its candidate Kamlesh Pratap Shah defeated Congress? Dheeran Shah by 3,027 votes. In Bihar, independent candidate Shankar Singh won the Rupauli seat, defeating Janata Dal (United) candidate Kaladhar Mandal by a margin of 8,246 votes.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) retained its hold on Tamil Nadu?s Vikravandi assembly constituency, with leader Anniyur Siva defeating Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) candidate Anbumani C by over 6,700 votes.
These bypolls were viewed as a critical test for the BJP, which had previously won 240 seats, falling short of the 272-majority mark. The party now relies on support from key allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including N Chandrababu Naidu?s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar?s JD(U), which secured 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, along with other coalition partners to surpass the halfway mark.
