New Delhi: In the by-elections held in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, the Congress won all the three assembly constituencies and Mandi Lok Sabha seat.
In Rajasthan, the ruling Congress won the by-elections to the Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad assembly constituencies.
Bypolls were held across the country last week for three Lok Sabha seats – one each in Himachal, Madhya Pradesh and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli – and 29 assembly constituencies.
The ruling BJP has won all five seats in Assam, while the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has won the four seats that went to the by-polls. Northeast seats have gone to NDA candidates.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena registered its first victory outside Maharashtra when party candidate Kalaben Delkar won the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seat, defeating BJP’s Mahesh Gamit.
In Karnataka, the BJP won the Sindgi assembly constituency but lost the Hangal seat to the Congress. The Election Commission said that the BJP also snatched the Prithvipur assembly seat from the Congress. Counting of votes was going on in Khandwa Lok Sabha seat and other constituencies till the final report came out.
Himachal Congress demands resignation of Chief Minister Thakur on moral grounds
In Himachal Pradesh, the opposition Congress retained the Fatehpur and Arki seats and snatched Jubbal-Kotkhai from the BJP, apart from winning the Mandi LS seat.
In Mandi, Congress candidate Pratibha Singh, wife of late Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, defeated BJP’s Brigadier Khushal Chand Thakur, a Kargil war hero. The seat was won by BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma by 4,05,000 votes in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
The by-election in Mandi was held due to Sharma’s death in March.
Meanwhile, the death of Virbhadra Singh in July triggered a by-election for Arki seat, which has been retained by Congress and Sanjay Awasthi defeated Ratan Singh Pal of BJP.
From Jubbal-Kotkhai Congress’s Rohit Thakur has won, who defeated BJP’s Neelam Saraik. As per reports, she may lose her deposits.
In June, the seat had to go through a by-election due to the death of sitting BJP MLA Narinder Bragta.
Congress’s Bhawani Singh Pathania defeated BJP’s Baldev Thakur in Fatehpur, a Congress stronghold won by his father Sujan Singh Pathania in 2016. Senior Pathania passed away in January this year.
After winning four Himachal seats, the Congress demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on moral grounds, while the BJP said it would introspect the reasons for the defeat.
Himachal Pradesh Congress President Kuldeep Singh Rathore termed the by-poll as a “semi-final” and said, “Thakur also failed to retain the BJP seat in his home district Mandi.”
He expressed confidence that the Congress would win the assembly elections to be held next year.
In a tweet, Congress’ Himachal Pradesh affairs in-charge Sanjay Dutt said: “This is a vote for change against the anti-people policies of the BJP at the Center and Himachal Pradesh governments. It is a show of solidarity of people with pro-people The mandate is there. The stand of the people of our leaders Sonia ji and Rahul Gandhi ji.”
Meanwhile, CM Thakur alleged that some BJP workers worked against the party candidates and said that action would be taken against them.
जनमत को स्वीकार करता हूँ।
आज मण्डी लोकसभा सहित अर्की,जुब्बल-कोटखाई व फतेहपुर विधानसभा उपचुनावों के नतीजे सामने आए है।
मैं जनता के निर्णय को स्वीकार करता हूँ, कॉंग्रेस के विजेता प्रत्याशियों को बधाई।
हम हार पर मंथन करेंगे व आगामी रूपरेखा बनाएंगे,जो कमी रही है उसकी भरपाई करेंगे।
— Jairam Thakur (@jairamthakurbjp) November 2, 2021
“The BJP will introspect the reasons that led to its defeat, devise a strategy to overcome its shortcomings and do everything possible to ensure victory in the 2022 assembly elections,” he said.
Boost for Gehlot government in Rajasthan
The BJP had to face defeat in both the seats held in the by-elections in Rajasthan. Its candidates finished third and fourth in Dhariawad and Vallabhnagar respectively, as the Congress captured the former seat and retained the latter.
The Congress now has 108 MLAs against the BJP’s 71 in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly.
According to the Election Commission website, in Dhariawad, Congress candidate Nagraj Meena won by a margin of over 18,000 votes, defeating Thawarchand, an independent.
The seat fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Gautam Meena.
In Vallabhnagar, Preeti Shaktawat of the Congress defeated Rashtriya Loktantrik Party’s Udailal Dangi by over 20,000 votes.
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