New Delhi: Congress and Trinamool Congress made gains in the first set of bypolls covering 13 assembly seats across seven states since the Lok Sabha election. Congress and TMC won four seats each while BJP bagged two seats with Aam Aadmi Party, DMK and an independent candidate getting one each.
The good news for Congress came from the hilly states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where the party won two seats each. In Himachal, chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu further consolidated his position by winning two of three seats.
Three independent MLAs, who had switched to the BJP from Congress, were contesting on these seats. Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur won from Dehra seat. The party bagged Nalagarh constituency as well. BJP’s sole win was in Hamirpur where party candidate Ashish Sharma won the seat.
Following the strong bypoll performance, Congress has regained 40 seats in the 68-member Himachal assembly which it had won in 2022. BJP has 28 MLAs after Saturday’s result.
In Uttarakhand, Congress won Badrinath and Manglaur. Badrinath Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari had joined the BJP and was contesting on a BJP ticket. Manglaur seat got vacant after the death of sitting BSP MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari. Congress wrested the seat from the BJP.
In Madhya Pradesh, BJP maintained its winning record by wresting Amarwara seat from Congress. Amarwara sitting Congress MLA Kamlesh Shah joined the BJP and was contesting as BJP candidate. This is Congress’s second defeat in Chhindwara after it lost the Lok Sabha polls.
In Bihar, there was a prestige battle between the ruling JD (U) and the RJD for Rupauli assembly seats. However, the results came as a setback for both the ruling alliance as well as the opposition. Former LJP (Ram Vilas) leader and independent candidate Shankar Singh won the election.
In Tamil Nadu, ruling DMK wrested Vikravandi seat from the PMK.
