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In bypoll prestige fights, SP retains Mulayam Singh Yadav’s bastion, BJP wrests Azam Khan’s fort | India News
LUCK: If Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are the main action on Thursday, opinion polls spread across the five states are created to attract the side battles, especially in UP’s Mainpuri LS and Rampur and assembled seats Khatauli as well as Kurhani in Bihar.
SP leader Akhilesh Yadav’s wife, Dimple, won Mainpuri by more than 2.8 thousand votes, an achievement not even achieved by the party chief and her father-in-law, Mulayam Singh Yadav be in the constituency that has elected him since 2004.
BJP‘ Raghuraj Singh Shakya stood no chance against the ‘MSY wave’, an element of sympathy that arose after the politician’s death on October 10. SP saw the contest as a “tribute” to party founder, a move that pays off well.
But the BJP stunned SP at another of their strongholds, Rampur, where the party hasn’t lost since 2002. There were many firsts — it was the BJP’s first win here and there. Rampur elected a non-Muslim lawmaker for the first time since the first parliamentary polls in 1952.
In a constituency that voted for Muslim candidates 19 times, BJP’s Akash Saxena defeated SP candidate Asim Raja, a former SP MLA Azam Khan, by a margin of 34,136 votes. elected. Azam has won the seat 10 times. His disqualification in a hate speech case forced a vote. Just eight months ago, Saxena was defeated by Azam by more than 55,000 votes.
The BJP has adopted a strategy of strengthening Azam’s detractors and reaching out to Muslims who make up about 65% of the electorate. But opinion polls in Rampur were marred by a horribly low turnout of 31% amid SP allegations that the BJP government abused the state apparatus to drive out voters. The BJP denies the allegations.
However, the BJP failed in Khatauli. SP-backed RLD candidate Madan Bhaiyya wins seat, defeats BJP’s Raj Kumari Saini, wife of former MLA Vikram Saini, who was disqualified for her part in the Muzaffarnagar riots that led to the electoral vote. Madan Bhaiyya, a strongman from Ghaziabad, defeated Raj Kumari by 22,143 votes. BJP has won Khatauli since 2017.
In Bihar, the BJP dealt a blow to the Mahagathbandhan led by Nitish Kumar running the state by taking the Kurhani council seat in Muzaffarpur. BJP’s Kedar Prasad Gupta beat Manoj Singh Kushwaha of JD(U) by 3,649 votes.
In Odisha, CM Naveen Patnaik thwarted an upbeat BJP in opinion polls in Padampur, seen as a BJD stronghold. BJD’s Barsha Singh Bariha — daughter of MLA Bijaya five times Ranjan Singh Barihawhose death this October led to the polls — defeated BJP candidate Pradip Purohit by 42,000 votes.
Padampur is a prestige battle for the BJD after it lost its Dhamnagar seat to the BJP last month, which is seen as a sign that the longtime CM’s popularity has waned.
Parliament in Chhattisgarh retained the tribal Bhanupratappur (ST) council seat with candidate Savitri Mandavi winning the seat by a margin of 21,000 votes. The victory adds another point to CM Bhupesh Baghel’s record, as the party has won all five by-elections held since Parliament took control of the state four years ago.
“(Former BJP CM) Raman Singh calls me muswa (rat), bilai (cat), kukur (dog), but saffron is really the people of Chhattisgarh and they showed their mettle, that’s why why do people see BJP struggling between second and third place in the scoreboard,” said Baghel.
Parliament also retained the Sardarshahar council seat in Rajasthan, with candidate Anil Sharma defeating BJP’s Ashok Kumar Pincha by 26,800 votes. The by-election is seen as a test for CM Ashok Gehlot a year ahead of the state polls. “It is a clear message from the people that in 2023, Parliament will form a government with an absolute majority in Rajasthan,” he said.
SP leader Akhilesh Yadav’s wife, Dimple, won Mainpuri by more than 2.8 thousand votes, an achievement not even achieved by the party chief and her father-in-law, Mulayam Singh Yadav be in the constituency that has elected him since 2004.
BJP‘ Raghuraj Singh Shakya stood no chance against the ‘MSY wave’, an element of sympathy that arose after the politician’s death on October 10. SP saw the contest as a “tribute” to party founder, a move that pays off well.
But the BJP stunned SP at another of their strongholds, Rampur, where the party hasn’t lost since 2002. There were many firsts — it was the BJP’s first win here and there. Rampur elected a non-Muslim lawmaker for the first time since the first parliamentary polls in 1952.
In a constituency that voted for Muslim candidates 19 times, BJP’s Akash Saxena defeated SP candidate Asim Raja, a former SP MLA Azam Khan, by a margin of 34,136 votes. elected. Azam has won the seat 10 times. His disqualification in a hate speech case forced a vote. Just eight months ago, Saxena was defeated by Azam by more than 55,000 votes.
The BJP has adopted a strategy of strengthening Azam’s detractors and reaching out to Muslims who make up about 65% of the electorate. But opinion polls in Rampur were marred by a horribly low turnout of 31% amid SP allegations that the BJP government abused the state apparatus to drive out voters. The BJP denies the allegations.
However, the BJP failed in Khatauli. SP-backed RLD candidate Madan Bhaiyya wins seat, defeats BJP’s Raj Kumari Saini, wife of former MLA Vikram Saini, who was disqualified for her part in the Muzaffarnagar riots that led to the electoral vote. Madan Bhaiyya, a strongman from Ghaziabad, defeated Raj Kumari by 22,143 votes. BJP has won Khatauli since 2017.
In Bihar, the BJP dealt a blow to the Mahagathbandhan led by Nitish Kumar running the state by taking the Kurhani council seat in Muzaffarpur. BJP’s Kedar Prasad Gupta beat Manoj Singh Kushwaha of JD(U) by 3,649 votes.
In Odisha, CM Naveen Patnaik thwarted an upbeat BJP in opinion polls in Padampur, seen as a BJD stronghold. BJD’s Barsha Singh Bariha — daughter of MLA Bijaya five times Ranjan Singh Barihawhose death this October led to the polls — defeated BJP candidate Pradip Purohit by 42,000 votes.
Padampur is a prestige battle for the BJD after it lost its Dhamnagar seat to the BJP last month, which is seen as a sign that the longtime CM’s popularity has waned.
Parliament in Chhattisgarh retained the tribal Bhanupratappur (ST) council seat with candidate Savitri Mandavi winning the seat by a margin of 21,000 votes. The victory adds another point to CM Bhupesh Baghel’s record, as the party has won all five by-elections held since Parliament took control of the state four years ago.
“(Former BJP CM) Raman Singh calls me muswa (rat), bilai (cat), kukur (dog), but saffron is really the people of Chhattisgarh and they showed their mettle, that’s why why do people see BJP struggling between second and third place in the scoreboard,” said Baghel.
Parliament also retained the Sardarshahar council seat in Rajasthan, with candidate Anil Sharma defeating BJP’s Ashok Kumar Pincha by 26,800 votes. The by-election is seen as a test for CM Ashok Gehlot a year ahead of the state polls. “It is a clear message from the people that in 2023, Parliament will form a government with an absolute majority in Rajasthan,” he said.
