Bypolls: BJP, allies come first; AIMIM gains toehold in Bihar

Lucknow/Patna: The BJP and its allies on Thursday won 26 of the 51 assembly seats at stake in the bypolls across 18 states and the Congress emerged victorious in 12 constituencies while Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM tasted its maiden electoral success in Bihar.
In bye-elections to two Lok Sabha seats, Lok Jan Shakti Party won in Samastipur (SC) in Bihar, while NCP emerged victorious in Maharashtra’s Satara constituency.
The Samajwadi Party turned out to be a major gainer in Uttar Pradesh, wresting a seat each from the ruling BJP and the BSP, while the NDA got eight, one less than it held.
The ruling JD(U) suffered a setback in Bihar managing to win only one of the four seats it contested. Bypolls were held in five seats of which RJD won two and AIMIM one. The remaining seat was won by an Independent. Four of these five seats were held by BJP ally JD(U) and one by the Congress.
In the Gujarat bypolls, ruling BJP and Congress shared the spoils winning three seats each.
In a morale booster after the Lok Sabha poll drubbing months ago, the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu wrested two seats from arch-rival DMK and its ally Congress in the bypolls.
In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF tasted defeat at the hands of the ruling LDF headed by the CPI-M in its strongholds of Vattiyoorkavu and Konni, while it retained two seats and won from the Marxist bastion of Aroor.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress wrested back its traditional Jhabua assembly seat from the BJP. The Congress now has 115 members, one short of simple majority in the 230-member house. It enjoys the support of 4 Independents, two BSP MLAs and one SP MLA.
The ruling Congress in Rajasthan increased its tally in the state assembly by winning the bypoll to Mandawa seat while MP Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party retained the Khinwsar seat.
Now the Congress tally in the 200-member assembly has increased to 107, including six those who had defected to the party from the BSP last month.
The ruling Congress consolidated its position in Punjab winning three assembly segments while opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won one seat.
The ruling TRS in Telangana won the Huzurnagar seat.
In Himachal Pradesh, the ruling BJP retained both the Dharamshala and Pachhad seats.
In Puducherry, the ruling Congress retained the Kamaraj Nagar Assembly seat.
The ruling Congress won the Naxal-affected Chitrakot seat in Chhattisgarh. (PTI)