Bypoll Results 2021: Counting of votes for 3 Lok Sabha and 29 Assembly constituencies spread across 13 states and one Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli is over with Congress sweeping Himachal by-polls, whereas Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress marking a resounding victory in West Bengal.
Despite a dismal show in aforementioned states, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance in Assam won all the five Assembly constituencies where by-polls were held, with the saffron party securing three seats and its ally United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL) bagging the two others.
TMC on Tuesday worsted its rivals BJP and the Congress by record margins, to romp home to a 4-0 clean sweep in by-elections held on October 30. Meanwhile, the Congress won Himachal's Mandi Lok Sabha all three Assembly seats where the bypolls were held.
Assembly by-elections were held in five seats in Assam, four in West Bengal, three each in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, two each in Bihar, Karnataka and Rajasthan and one seat each is in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Mizoram and Telangana.
Of the 29 states, the BJP had won in around half a dozen constituencies earlier, the Congress had nine, while the rest were with regional parties
Several states threw up a similarly mixed bag with trends favouring ruling parties in several states. Here's all you need to know in 10 points:
1. In Himachal Pradesh, the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, which was earlier held by the BJP, was won by former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's wife Pratibha Singh. She defeated BJP's Khushal Thakur, a Kargil war hero, by a margin of 7,490 votes. Congress even retained Fatehpur and Arki Assembly seats while it wrested Jubbal-Kotkhai seat from the BJP.
2. In West Bengal, TMC wrested the Dinhata and Santipur seats in Coochbehar and Nadia districts, respectively from the BJP by huge margins, to raise its tally to 215 in the 294-member West Bengal assembly. Mamata Banerjee-led party also retained the Khardah and Gosaba assembly seats in North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas districts respectively by impressive margins.
3. In Assam, BJP's Phani Talukdar, Rupjyoti Kurmi and Sushanta Borgohain retained their respective Bhabanipur, Mariani and Thowra seats. Meanwhile, candidates from BJP's ally UPPL wrested the Gossaigaon seat from Congress and Tamulpur constituency from an independent candidate.
4. In Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United (JDU) managed to win both Tarapur constituency in Munger and Kusheshwar Asthan in Darbhanga. As per Election Commission, JDU won the Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan Assembly seats despite a tough fight from RJD.
5. In Haryana, INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala won the Ellenabad bypoll after defeating his nearest rival, Gobind Kanda of the BJP, with a margin of 6,739 votes, the Election Commission reported. Main opposition Congress was trailed at the third spot as its candidate Pawan Beniwal even lost security deposit.
6. The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday wrested Prithvipur assembly seat from Congress with the saffron party candidate Shishupal Yadav defeating his nearest rival Nitendra Singh Rathore by a margin of 15,687 votes, EC said.
7. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP snatched two assembly seats from Congress but lost a sitting seat to the opposition party. As per latest information, the saffron party is also leading Khandwa Lok Sabha seat.
8. In Rajasthan, the ruling Congress won the bypolls to Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad Assembly constituencies. BJP not only lost the two bypolls, its candidates stood third and fourth in the Dhariawad and Vallabhnagar segments, respectively.
9. BJP friend-turned-foe Shiv Sena won the Dadra & Nagar Haveli And Daman & Diu while the Congress retained Deglur assembly seat in Maharashtra.
10. BJP candidate Eatala Rajender, a popular former minister who quit the TRS to join the saffron-clad, emerged victorious by defeating his nearest rival Gellu Srinivas Yadav from TRS by 24,068 votes.