Bypolls cheer BJP, Congress
NEW DELHI: The results of 10 assembly by-elections declared on Thursday brought cheer to the BJP camp, a sense of relief to the Congress and dealt yet another poll blow to their rival AAP that finished a poor third in Capital’s Rajouri Garden seat.
The outcome of the bypolls, held across eight states, is a big setback for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party 10 days ahead of the Delhi civic polls and a month after it suffered a shock defeat in the Punjab assembly election after starting as a favourite.
The ruling party in a state usually has an edge in assembly elections and that is what makes the defeat of AAP, which considered and projected itself as an alternative to both the national parties, in Rajouri Garden significant.
While the results again stamped the BJP’s domination of the country’s political landscape — with five of the 10 seats going to the party — the Congress may not be disappointed.
It retained both seats — Gundlupet and Nanjangud — in Karnataka almost a year ahead of the state election that would see the BJP make an aggressive bid to dislodge the Congress.
Though it finished second in Rajouri Garden, the result would boost the morale of the Congress, which after ruling Delhi for 15 years drew a blank in the 2015 assembly election.
The BJP snatched Rajouri Garden seat from the AAP and Dholpur in Rajasthan from the Bahujan Samaj Party. It retained Bhoranj in Congressruled Himachal Pradesh, Dhemaji in Assam and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. In MP’s Ater seat, however, Congress candidate Hemant Katare won the bypoll by little over 800 votes, say TV reports.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) sprung a surprise and clinched the Littipara assembly seat in the state defeating ruling BJP in the bypoll.
Though the ruling Trinamool Congress retained West Bengal’s Kanthi Dakshin seat, the BJP came second, pointing to its growing presence in the state.
After the results, PM Narendra Modi tweeted to express his gratitude to people who voted for his party. “I thank the people for the constant support, blessings & unwavering faith in politics of development and good governance.”