By-Election Results: Parties Hold Ground on 4 of 5 Seats, Congress Faces Setback in Kerala

The results of by-elections held in Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal were declared today for five assembly seats. Four of these remained with their previous ruling parties, indicating minimal political shift. In Gujarat, BJP's Rajendra Chavda retained the Kadi seat, while AAP’s Gopal Italia won again in Visavadar. Punjab’s Ludhiana West also remained with AAP, where Sanjeev Arora emerged victorious. The only change came from Kerala’s Nilambur seat, where Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath defeated CPI(M)’s M. Swaraj by 1,177 votes, reclaiming the seat from an Independent. In West Bengal, TMC's Alifa Ahmad narrowly beat the BJP by just 59 votes in Kaliganj. Congress performed the weakest in these by-polls, prompting internal resignations, including a letter from a state chief to party president Mallikarjun Kharge. AAP celebrated its wins, and speculations arose about Arvind Kejriwal possibly moving to Rajya Sabha from the seat vacated by Sanjeev Arora. Despite BJP’s Operation Sindoor, it did not yield expected gains. Each party is portraying the results either as a sign of strength or an opportunity to introspect. These by-polls, ahead of key elections next year, have set the tone for future political alignments.