Bypoll roundup: BJP emerges winner in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar, SP suffers major setback

The series of bypolls which were held in different parts of the country saw mixed results for the BJP-led NDA alliance, with the party securing a major upset by winning the Muzaffarnagar seat in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh

The Samajwadi Party has held the Muzaffarnagar seat since the year 2012, according to an NDTV report. However, all eyes were on the results of this bypoll, as it has come after the widespread violence between religious communities that had scarred the region in 2013.

Twenty candidates, including Kapil Aggarwal (BJP), Gaurav Swaroop (SP), Salman Saeed (Congress) and Pankaj Bharadwaj (Shiv Sena), were in the fray for the by-election to the seat.

Mavia Ali of Congress won the Deoband defeating SP candidate Meena Rana. The by-election could be a sign of things to come during the elections in Uttar Pradesh next year.

The Samajwadi Party, in power in the state government in UP, also suffered a setback in Deoband, losing to the Congress, as reported by India Today. This seat, too, was previously held by the Samajwadi Party.

Punjab

In Punjab, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal won the bypoll to Khadoor Sahib Assembly seat, with party candidate Ravinder Singh Brahmpura defeating his nearest rival Independent candidate Bhupinder Singh by a margin of 65,664 votes.

The main opposition parties Congress and Aam Aadmi Party had stayed out of the contest.

Maharashtra

The Shiv Sena retained the Palghar Assembly seat near Mumbai with its nominee Amit Ghoda defeating Congress candidate Rajendra Gavit by 18,948 votes.

Though it was a multi-cornered contest, the real fight was between Amit Ghoda and Gavit, former Maharashtra minister.

Telangana

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) wrested the Narayankhed Assembly seat in Medak district from Congress with its candidate Bhupal Reddy winning the seat by a margin of 53,625 votes.

Congress candidate P Sanjeeva Reddy polled 39,451 votes while M Vijaypal Reddy of TDP got 14,787 votes in the constituency, considered a Congress bastion.

The result came as a further boost to the TRS, led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, as the party had scored a landslide win in the recent Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls, bagging 99 seats of the 150-member civic body.

Tripura

The ruling CPI-M won the Birganj Assembly by-election in Tripura’s Gomati district, with party candidate Parimal Debnath trouncing his nearest rival BJP candidate by a margin of 10,597 votes.

While Debnath secured 20,355 votes, BJP’s Ranjit Das polled 9,758 votes. Congress candidate Chanchal De got only 1,231 votes and his deposit was forfeited, Returning Officer Debapriya Bardhan told reporters.