The counting of votes was completed for assembly seats where by elections were held earlier this week.
New Delhi: The BJP emerged victorious in two of the four assembly constituencies where by elections were held while the ruling Left Democratic Front wrested a seat in Kerala and the Congress consolidated its position in Chhattisgarh, winning Maoist-affected Dantewada. The counting of votes was completed for four assembly seats on Friday where by elections were held earlier this week. Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur, Chhattisgarh's Dantewada, Kerala's Pala and Tripura's Badharghat went to polls on September 23. Both the ruling Congress and the BJP were eyeing victory in the Maoist-affected seat of Dantewada where bypoll was necessitated after the death of sitting BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi in a Maoist attack in April this year. The Congress emerged victorious in the Dantewada assembly by election. The bypoll to the Hamirpur constituency saw a four-cornered contest, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and the Congress fielding their candidates. The ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front won the by election to Pala assembly constituency, wresting the seat from the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front. The win has come as a huge relief to the LDF after its rout in the Lok Sabha polls. The by election to the Badharghat constituency was necessitated due to the death of ruling BJP MLA Dilip Sarkar in April this year. BJP candidate Mimi Majumder has won the by-election to Badharghat (SC) Assembly constituency defeating her nearest rival, CPI(M)'s Bulti Biswas. The ruling BJP has 36 seats in the Tripura assembly while its alliance partner Indigenous People's Front of Tripura has eight in the 60-member house.
Here are the highlights of the by elections results:
Congress' Devati Karma has won the Assembly byelection in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. Her husband Mahendra Karma was killed in the Jhiram Valley Maoist attack in 2013.
BJP candidate Mimi Majumder has won the by-election to Badharghat (SC) Assembly constituency defeating her nearest rival, CPI(M)'s Bulti Biswas.
BJP's Yuvraj Singh wins the Hamirpur seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Yuvraj Singh is leading in the Hamirpur Assembly bypoll.
An official said that Mr Singh had already taken the lead in the tenth phase of counting. The BJP candidate had got 17,344 votes and the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate had got 14,067 votes with the BJP leading by 3,277 votes.
Pala was a bastion of the Congress-led United Democratic Front, held by veteran leader and former Finance Minister K M Mani for the last five decades.
Mani C Kappen, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, defeated Tom Pulikkunel of the opposition Congress-led UDF by 2,943 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after the death of KM Mani in April.
Ruling Left Democratic Front wins Pala by election in Kerala:The ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front has won the by election to Pala assembly constituency, wresting the seat from the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front. LDF candidate Mani C Kappen defeated Jose Tom Pulikkunel of the opposition Congress-led UDF in a closely contested fight. The win has come as a huge relief to the LDF after its rout in the Lok Sabha polls.
As per latest trends, Congress' Devati Karma is leading in Dantewada; BJP's Mimi Majumder is leading in Badharghat and BJP's Yuwraj Singh is leading in Hamirpur.
Badharghat:
The by election to the Badharghat constituency was necessitated due to the death of ruling BJP MLA Dilip Sarkar in April this year. The BJP has fielded Mimi Majumder for the seat while Bulti Biswas is the CPI (M) candidate. Ratan Das is the Congress candidate.
The Hamirpur by-election, the first to be held after the Lok Sabha election, has been necessitated due to the disqualification of sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ashok Kumar Singh Chandel following his conviction in a murder case. The bypoll to the constituency will witness a four-cornered contest, with the BJP, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and the Congress fielding their candidates.
Dantewada by election results: Important pointersCounting of votes in the Dantewada assembly bypoll started at 8 am today at the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) campus in Dantewada district headquarters amid tight security. The voter turnout in the bypoll in Dantewada, a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, was 60.59 per cent.
The ruling Congress and main opposition BJP are locked in a direct fight in this Naxal-hit seat where bypoll was necessitated after the death of sitting BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi in a Maoist attack in April this year.
Nine contestants are in the fray but the main fight is between the Congress and the BJP.
Prominent candidates in the fray are the wives of Bhima Mandavi and late Congress leader Mahendra Karma, both victims of Maoist violence.
While the BJP has fielded Ojaswi Mandavi, the wife of Bhima Mandavi, the Congress candidate is Devti Karma, whose husband Mahendra Karma was killed in the Jhiram Valley Maoist attack in 2013. Both had contested against each other last year too.