The results of 10 assembly seats in eight states have brought jubilation for BJP, a much needed breather for the Congress, but humiliation for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday. The BJP won five seats — retaining three and gaining two from other parties. The Congress retained three seats, two in Karnataka, and one in Madhya Pradesh.
Post the results, PM Narendra Modi, in a tweet, thanked the people for their "unwavering faith in politics of development and good governance." He said the performance of the BJP in the by-elections was "impressive."
The ruling Congress in Karnataka retained both the Nanjangud and Gundulpet assembly seats in Karanataka. The contest here had become a prestige battle for the Congress as Nanjangud falls in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's home district of Mysuru. His close confident V Srinivas Prasad, who had held this seat, had joined the BJP after he was dropped from the council of ministers. He contested this seat as the BJP candidate, but lost.
BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa who had himself campaigned in both the seats accepted defeat. "We bow our heads and accept the decision of the people," he said, conceding defeat. The results have boosted Siddaramaiah's profile in the Congress, and have silenced his detractors within the party.
The most watched seat was Ater in Madhya Pradesh, where trends kept changing after every round. The BJP later took the lead, but ultimately it was the Congress candidate Hemant Katare, who had the last laugh, trouncing the BJP's Arvind Bhadoria by just 857 votes. Katare's father was the sitting MLA and died last year. In Madhya Pradesh thus, the BJP and Congress retained one seat each.
Acknowledging that presence of a strong state leader with political weight was a panacea for the ills affecting the Congress, party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said the results have also communicated the need for unity amongst cadres on the ground.
The results also highlighted the Congress' dilemma on the stand its top leaders have taken on EVMs. While Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has led a delegation of 13 political party to the President and Election Commission against the use of EVMs, the party's man of the moment in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, said, "In these two constituencies, EVM machines were not tampered with."
The selective criticism of EVMs - alleging their manipulation in states that it lost, but certifying them in the places it has won - is hitting the party's credibility as it campaigns for a return to voting by ballot paper. Earlier too, two other senior leaders of the party — Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and former law minister Veerapa Moily have spoken out against the party's stand on EVMs.
Meanwhile, the BJP's winning streak was on display in Assam, with the party's Ranoj Pegu beating his nearest rival Babul Sonowal of the Congress by over 9,000 votes to win the Dhemaji by-poll assembly seat. In Himachal Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due later this year, BJP won the Bhoranj seat from the Congress, in a big setback for Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
"This is a big win for us. We are on track to win 60 seats in Assembly polls," said Anurag Thakur, a senior BJP MP who is also being seen by many as the party's chief ministerial candidate.
As far as other parties were concerned, in West Bengal's Kanthi Dakshin seat, the Trinamool Congress retained its seat, while in Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) also retained the Litipara seat.
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