Bypoll results: SP retains Mainpuri, BJP wrests 2 assembly seats but loses 1, Congress keeps 2

Samajwadi Party candidate Dimple Yadav, wife of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, on Thursday won the Mainpuri parliamentary bypoll in Uttar Pradesh, defeating her nearest rival and BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya by 2,88,461 votes.

But Akhilesh’s party lost the Rampur Sadar assembly seat, considered Azam Khan’s stronghold, to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the first time, while the Khatauli bypoll was won by the Samajwadi Party’s ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

Besides the Mainpuri parliamentary bypoll, Rampur Sadar and Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh, Padampur in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar and Bhanupratappur in Chhattisgarh are the assembly seats where the bypolls were announced on Thursday.

“Heartiest congratulation to winning candidates of Mainpuri, Rampur and Khatauli by-polls in Uttar Pradesh,” Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said in a tweet in Hindi.

“The BJP has won the Rampur seat for the first time. For this, congratulations to all workers of Rampur, including Akash Saxena, and thanks to the almighty public (for support),” he added.

Considered as the SP’s bastion, the Mainpuri parliamentary seat was held by party founder and Dimple Yadav’s father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav and got vacated after his death on October 10.

In 2019, Mulayam Singh Yadav won the Mainpuri seat by defeating BJP candidate Prem Singh Shakya by 94,389 votes.

“I want to thank all the supporters of the Samajwadi Party who worked rigorously for our victory. I also want to thank the people of Mainpuri for believing in me. This victory is a tribute to Netaji (Late Mulayam Singh Yadav),” Dimple Yadav said at a press conference along with Akhilesh Yadav.

Setback for Azam Khan, SP

The BJP won the Rampur Sadar assembly seat for the first time as its candidate Akash Saxena defeated his nearest Samajwadi Party rival Asim Raja.

Bypoll to the Rampur Sadar seat was necessitated after Azam Khan was sentenced to three years in jail in a hate speech case, and subsequently disqualified as MLA.

Saxena, who won by a margin of 33,702 votes, has been handed over the winners certificate by the Returning officer. This is the first time the BJP has won the Rampur Sadar assembly seat.

Azam Khan cannot contest elections for the next six years due to his conviction. The bypoll was held on December 5.

RLD wrests Khatauli assembly seat from BJP

Samajwadi Party ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won the Khatauli bypoll in Uttar Pradesh, with its candidate Madan Bhaiya defeating his BJP rival Rajkumari Saini by a margin of over 22,000 votes.

Madan Bhaiya polled 97,071 votes, while Saini received 74,996, according to the Election Commission. Saini is the wife of former BJP MLA Vikram Singh, whose disqualification from the state assembly following his conviction in a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case necessitated the bypoll.

Rajasthan: Congress wins Sardarshahr assembly bypoll

Congress’s Anil Sharma defeated BJP candidate Ashok Kumar Pincha by a margin of 26,850 votes in Rajasthan’s Sardarshahar assembly bypoll, with chief minister Ashok Gehlot terming it “people’s seal on his government’s good governance and public welfare schemes”.

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) candidate Lalchand Moond came third. A total of 10 candidates were in the fray. Sharma got 91,357 votes, Pincha 64,505 and Moond 46,753 votes.

This is the 10th time the Congress won the seat since Independence. The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of senior Congress leader and MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma.

In Chhattisgarh, Congress retains Bhanupratappur assembly bypoll seat

The ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh on Thursday won the Bhanupratappur assembly bypoll, retaining the seat by defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party. With this, the opposition BJP has suffered a fifth successive defeat at the hands of the ruling Congress in the assembly bypoll held after the 2018 Chhattisgarh election. Congress candidate Savitri Mandavi won the bypoll by a margin of 21,171 votes against her nearest rival Brahmanand Netam of the BJP. Mandavi polled 65,479 votes, while the BJP’s Netam secured 44,308 votes.

Former IPS officer Akbar Ram Korram, who contested as an independent, gave a spirited fight and polled 23,417 votes.

Odisha: BJD steamrolls to victory in Padampur bypoll

Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday steamrolled to a convincing victory in the bypoll to Odisha’s Padampur, as its candidate Barsha Singh Bariha won by a margin of 42,679 votes, defeating the BJP’s Pradip Purohit.

After the end of the 23rd round of counting, Bariha secured a total 1,20,807 votes, while Purohit bagged 78,128 votes, the Election Commission said.

Barsha is the daughter of late MLA Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha whose death in October necessitated the by-poll.

Jolt to Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in Bihar’s Kurhani

In Bihar, BJP candidate Kedar Prasad Gupta defeated Manoj Singh Kushwaha of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) by 3,645 votes in Kurhani seat. The JD(U) had snapped ties with the BJP four months ago.

In the cliffhanger of a contest, Gupta polled 76,653 votes while Kushwaha finished with 73,008 votes.

The by-election was necessitated by the disqualification of RJD MLA Anil Kumar Sahani. The RJD is a constituent of the ruling Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance).