Byelection 2022: BJP Wins Rampur For First Time, Setback To JD(U) In Bihar

By election 2022: The BJP's victory in Rampur, which has a significant Muslim population, is a significant victory.

BJP workers burn firecrackers celebrating the party's win.

Source : File Photo/PTI

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday won the Rampur Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. This is the stronghold of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his family. The party led by Akhilesh Yadav had claimed that people were denied the right to vote and were beaten with sticks so they wouldn't show up on Monday. With less than 40% of eligible voters showing up at the polling places, the constituency's voter turnout had been dismal.

A by-election in Rampur Sadar was necessary because SP MLA and party strongman Azam Khan was disqualified following his conviction in a hate speech case in 2019.

The BJP's victory in Rampur, which has a significant Muslim population, is a significant victory. The seat had never been won by the BJP, but Azam Khan and his family have won it repeatedly since 2002. Between the years 1980 and 1993, Azam Khan won the seat on tickets issued by various parties.

The members of Azam Khan's family had claimed that the police harassed, threatened, and prevented people from voting.

The Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav has accused the police of stopping its supporters from voting.

On Tuesday, members of the Samajwadi Party disrupted the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, claiming that the by-elections in Rampur Sadar had resulted in the "murder of democracy."

Byelections in six assembly districts across five states and the well-known Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, where the Samajwadi Party and the BJP were engaged in a power struggle.

Results for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur and Khatauli, Odisha's Padampur, Rajasthan's Sardarshahar, Bihar's Kurhani, and Chhattisgarh's Bhanupratappur announced.

Uttar Pradesh

Akash Saxena, the candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party, defeated Asim Raja, his closest rival from the Samajwadi Party, to win the Rampur Sadar assembly seat for the first time.

A bypoll to the Rampur Sadar seat, which is thought to be Azam Khan's stronghold, was necessary after the leader of the Samajwadi Party was found guilty of hate speech and sentenced to three years in prison. He was also disqualified from serving as an MLA.

The returning officer has presented Saxena, who won by 33,702 votes, with the certificate of victory.

The BJP has never won the Rampur Sadar assembly seat before.

Due to his conviction, Azam Khan cannot run for office for the next six years.

The by-election took place on December 5.

According to the Election Commission, Madan Bhaiya of the Rashtriya Lok Dal is ahead of BJP candidate Rajkumar Saini in Uttar Pradesh Khatauli by more than 20,000 votes.

Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat

Dimple Yadav, a Samajwadi Party candidate for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, defeated BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya by 2,88,461 votes in the Mainpuri bypoll.

The demise of SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav required the by-political race in Mainpuri.

Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the SP, is married to Dimple Yadav.

On December 5, the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat was up for grabs.

Odisha

Barsha Singh Bariha, an Odisha Biju Janata Dal candidate, has a commanding lead in the Padampur by-election in Odisha. With more than 57.80 percent of the votes cast, Barsha Singh Bariha is ahead of Pradip Purohit, a BJP candidate, by more than 38,252 votes.

Satya Bhusan Sahu, a candidate for Congress, was only able to garner 3,365 votes, or 1.75 percent.

Bariha is the late MLA Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha, whose death in October prompted the bypoll. Bariha is his daughter.

The BJP camp has been surprised by her overwhelming lead.

“Her lead is unexpected. A large chunk of Congress votes has shifted to the BJD. I accept the verdict of people with humility,” Purohit told reporters even before result of the bypoll was announced.

He stated that the BJP would conduct an investigation into the byoll result.

The BJD has received nearly 16% more votes than it did in 2019, when it had a 41% vote share.

In the two most recent elections, the constituency has seen several close contests. In 2014, Purohit beat Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha by 4,513 votes. Bariha had won by 18,066 votes over Congress candidate Satya Bhusan Sahu in the 2009 election.

Rajasthan 

After gaining a lead of 26,852 votes over his closest rival, BJP candidate Ashok Kumar, the Congress is poised to win the Sardarshahar assembly bypoll.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot termed it as “people’s seal on his government’s good governance and public welfare schemes”.

“Congratulations to Congress candidate Anil Sharma for the victory in the Sardarshahar bypoll and heartfelt gratitude to all voters. This victory is people’s seal of approval for the Congress government’s transparent, sensitive, accountable good governance and public welfare schemes for education, health and social security,” Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.

He also said, “It is a clear message to the public that in 2023, the Congress will form government in Rajasthan with full majority.”

सरदारशहर उपचुनाव में कांग्रेस प्रत्याशी श्री अनिल शर्मा को जीत की बधाई एवं सभी मतदाताओं का हार्दिक आभार। यह जीत कांग्रेस सरकार के पारदर्शी, संवेदनशील, जवाबदेह सुशासन एवं शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य एवं सामाजिक सुरक्षा की जनकल्याणकारी योजनाओं पर जनता की मुहर है।

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) December 8, 2022

Bihar

BJP candidate Kedar Prasad Gupta defeated chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) candidate Manoj Singh Kushwaha by 3,645 votes.

Gupta received 76,653 votes in the contest's cliffhanger, while Kushwaha received 73,008 votes.

The by-political race was required by the exclusion of Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Anil Kumar Sahani. The ruling Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) includes the RJD.

Chhattisgarh 

The Bhanupratappur assembly bypoll was won by the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh, which defeated the BJP to keep the seat.

The death of current Congress MLA Manoj Singh Mandavi necessitated the bypoll, which took place on December 5. His wife had joined the party.

After the 2018 Chhattisgarh elections, the opposition BJP was defeated by the ruling Congress in the assembly bypolls for the fifth time in a row.

A poll official said that Congress candidate Savitri Mandavi beat BJP candidate Brahmanand Netam by 21,171 votes in the byelection.

He stated that Netam of the BJP received 44,308 votes, while Mandavi received 65,479 votes.

As an independent, Akbar Ram Korram, a former IPS officer, fought hard and received 23,417 votes.

In the by-election for this seat, which went to the Scheduled Tribe candidates and was in the Kanker district, which was impacted by the Maoists, 71.74% of eligible voters cast ballots.

(With Inputs From PTI)