SP jolted in UP; SAD wins Khadoor Sahib seat

While BJP won in the Muzzafarnagar, Congress wrested the prestigious Deoband seat in the  state that is due to go to polls by February next year. However, win on the Bikapur seat came as a face saver for the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led ruling party. In Deoband, Congress candidate Mavia Ali, beat his nearest BJP candidate Rampal Pundir by 3499 votes. 

The main surprise was the performance of Hyderabad MP Asauddin Owaisi led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in Bikapur seat in Ayodhya fame Faizabad district. AIMIM, which had contested the elections for the first time in UP, performed excellently by coming on third spot and pushing both the national parties BJP and Congress candidates to fourth and fifth spot, though all the three lost their deposits. 

Besides Uttar Pradesh, bypolls were held in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra, Punjab and Tripura. 

Ruling alliance partner Shiv Sena retained the Palghar Assembly seat as its candidate Amit Ghoda defeated his nearest Congress rival Rajendra Gavit by a margin of 18,948 votes in the keenly fought by-election. The BJP did not contest the by poll. Ghoda secured 67,129 votes, while Gavit got 48,181 votes in byelection, necessitated due to the demise of Ghoda’s father and sitting Shiv Sena MLA Krishna A Ghoda on May 24 last year, following a heart attack. 

Nearly three months after its stupendous victory, the Grand Secular Alliance in Bihar suffered a setback losing Harlakhi Assembly bypoll to BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) candidate by 18,650 votes. Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha led RLSP candidate Sudhansu Sekhar, riding on a sympathy wave, defeated his Congress rival Mohammad Shabir by a margin of 18,650 votes. 

In Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib the ruling SAD nominee Ravinder Singh Brahmura won amid boycott of the poll by traditional rival Congress and new emerging political force Aam Aadmi Party in protest against sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib last year. Brahmpura defeated his nearest rival Independent Bhupinder Singh by 65,664 votes. 

Left front candidate was re-elected from 42 Birganj of Amarpur in South Tripura. CPM nominee Parimal Debnath defeated his nearest rival Ranjit Das of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a margin of 10,604 votes.