The flags of the BJP and the Congress.
Credit: PTI Photos
New Delhi: BJP’s winning streak in Maharashtra and Jharkhand extended to Assembly and Lok Sabha bypolls in 15 states on Saturday by gaining more seats than it held while Congress and some of its allies like RJD and Samajwadi Party lagged behind.
NDA won 28 out of 48 Assembly seats in 14 states while I.N.D.I.A bloc got 20 while in Lok Sabha bypolls both shared the spoils one each. Some of the I.N.D.I.A bloc partners, however, sparred against each other.
The bypolls also saw the Congress managing to retain both Wayanad and Nanded Lok Sabha seats, bringing its numbers back to 99. The Wayanad victory ensured Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s debut in Parliament through a constituency in Kerala where she surpassed Rahul Gandhi’s victory margin.
Assembly bypolls were held to 48 seats in 14 states and Lok Sabha bypolls were held in Wayanad and Nanded, both held by the Congress.
BJP won 20 seats, improving its tally from 12, while Congress fell from 13 to seven. Trinamool Congress won all six seats in Bengal, wresting one from BJP, while AAP won three out of four seats in Punjab after taking two seats from Congress.
Congress lost sitting seats in Assam (1), Gujarat (1), Meghalaya (1), Punjab (2), and Rajasthan (3). BJP lost their one each sitting seat in Karnataka and West Bengal.
The most number of Assembly bypolls (nine) were in Uttar Pradesh where Samajwadi Party lost two of its four sitting seats to BJP, which saw its tally rising from four to six. RLD won one seat. The results come as a booster dose for UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was at the receiving end for the Lok Sabha results.
At the same time, it was a setback for the BJP in Karnataka as the saffron party and its ally JD(S) lost one each sitting seat to the Congress, which won all the three seats. It also lost one of the two sitting seats in Madhya Pradesh.
Rajasthan was another state where I.N.D.I.A performed badly following Congress’ inability to stitch an alliance. BJP won five seats, an improvement of four, while Congress slipped from four to one. BAP won one seat while Hanuman Beniwal’s RLP lost its sitting seat – one he resigned after his Lok Sabha victory and from where his wife contested.
In Bihar, RJD lost their two sitting seats while CPI(ML)L lost one, which was vacated by Sudama Prasad who won Lok Sabha elections. HAM retained its sitting seat while BJP won two and JD(U) one.
Punjab saw AAP asserting its supremacy despite Congress having the upper hand in the Lok Sabha elections. Wives of Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Warring and senior leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who resigned their seats after Lok Sabha victories lost.
While BJP wrested one seat in Gujarat from Congress, the saffron party managed to retain one each seat in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. NPP took Congress’ seat in Meghalaya while Sikkim Kranti Morcha won two seats uncontested.
Assembly Bypolls Results
NDA: 28; INDIA: 20
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Assam – BJP: 3; UPPL: 1; AGP: 1
Bihar – BJP: 2; HAM: 1; JD(U): 1
Chhattisgarh – BJP: 1
Gujarat – BJP: 1
Karnataka – Congress: 3
Kerala – Congress: 1; CPI(M): 1
Madhya Pradesh – BJP: 1; Congress: 1
Meghalaya – NPP
Punjab – AAP: 3; Congress: 1
Rajasthan – BJP: 5; Congress: 1; BAP: 1
Sikkim – SKM: 2
Uttar Pradesh: BJP:6 SP: 2; RLD: 1
Uttarakhand: BJP: 1
West Bengal: 6