New Delhi: The BJP-led NDA, after a landslide victory in Maharashtra, is leading in most bypolls for which counting of votes is underway. Bypolls to 48 assembly and 2 parliamentary seats were held in two phases (13 and 20 November).
For the INDIA bloc, its most significant bypoll win was in Kerala’s Wayanad parliamentary constituency where Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was poised to beat her closest contender Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI by a sizeable margin. The NDA’s Navya Haridas is third in the seat.
Priyanka was leading by over three lakh votes in her electoral debut from the hill constituency vacated by her brother Rahul Gandhi after he chose to retain the other seat he contested from–Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh–in the June Lok Sabha elections. The other Lok Sabha seat that saw bypolls was Nanded in Maharashtra where the BJP’s Santukrao Marotrao Hambarde was ahead of his Congress rival by a slim margin as of 1 pm Saturday.
Polls in this constituency were necessitated due to the death of Congress MP Chavan Vasantrao Balwantrao.
In Uttar Pradesh, BJP took a comfortable lead in the five assembly seats of Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Phulpur, and Majhawan. The Samajwadi Party was leading in Karhal, Sishamau, and Katehari.
In Rajasthan, bypolls were held in seven seats, namely Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khinvsar, Chorasi, Salumber and Ramgarh. The BJP was leading in three, Jhunjhunu, Deoli-Uniara and Khinvsar. The Congress led in Ramgarh and Dausa, while the Bharat Adivasi Party was ahead in Salumber and Chorasi.
BJP and its allies were leading in four seats in Assam, but Congress held on to Samaguri. Bylections were held on five assembly seats in the northeast state: Dholai, Sidli, Bongaigaon, Behali and Samaguri.
The Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, which faced widespread outrage recently over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata, was leading in all six seats of Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai, and Madarihat.
In the four seats in Bihar, the BJP was leading in Tarari and Ramgarh, while ally JD(U) was ahead in Belaganj and Hindustani Awam Morcha in Imamganj. The BJP candidate was also ahead in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur City South.
The Congress was ahead in Vav, Gujarat, and also in the three seats in Karnataka where bypolls were held, Shiggaon, Sandur, and Chhannapatna.
Also read: Priyanka Gandhi’s Wayanad story can take many turns–success, horror, entertainment for INDIA
