Ruling parties lost four of the eight seats where Assembly bypolls were held with the Congress bagging one seat in BJP-ruled Rajasthan and the PDP handing the National Conference its first ever defeat in its stronghold of Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
BJP won the Nagrota seat in J&K and Mizoram’s main Opposition party, Mizo National Front (MNF), retained the Dampa Assembly seat with its candidate R Lalthangliana defeating Vanlalsailova of the ruling Zoram People’s Movement by a margin of 562 votes.
Bypolls were also held in Anta (Rajasthan), Ghatshila (Jharkhand), Jubilee Hills (Telangana), Tarn Taran (Punjab) and Nuapada (Odisha). In Odisha’s Nuapada, BJP’s Jay Dholakia beat Ghasi Ram Majhi of the Congress by a huge margin of 83,748 votes. Jay is the son of late BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, whose death necessitated the bypoll.
In Nagrota, BJP’s Devyani Rana defeated Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) candidate Harsh Dev Singh by 24647 votes. NC candidate Shamim Begum, who got 10872 votes, lost her deposit. Rana is the daughter of former MLA Devender Singh Rana, whose death necessitated the bypoll.
Opposition PDP’s Aga Syed Muntazir won the Budgam bypoll in Jammu and Kashmir, defeating ruling NC candidate Aga Syed Mehmood by a margin of 4,478 votes. The bypoll in Budgam was necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the seat and chose his family bastion of Ganderbal after winning from both constituencies in the assembly elections last year. This is the first time that the NC has lost in its bastion of Budgam, in central Kashmir, since the first elections for the legislative assembly were held in 1957.
Congress’ wins came in Anta assembly constituency in Rajasthan and Jubilee Hills in Telangana. In Anta, Pramod Jain Bhaya defeating his nearest rival and BJP nominee Morpal Suman by a margin of 15,612 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena was disqualified following his conviction in a criminal case.
The ruling AAP retained the Tarn Taran assembly seat in Punjab with its candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu defeating his nearest rival and SAD nominee Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa by a margin of 12,091 votes. The Tarn Taran seat fell vacant after the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June.
JMM candidate Somesh Chandra Soren beat his nearest rival Babulal Soren of the BJP in the by-election to the Ghatshila assembly seat in Jharkhand by over 38,500 votes. Somesh is the son of JMM MLA Ramdas Soren, whose death on August 15 necessitated the bypoll. The Dampa seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent Mizo National Front (MNF) legislator Lalrintluanga Sailo on July 21.
