Congress managed to win in Bahoriban constituency, which was held by the BJP
Katni:
The BJP today won two of three seats in the by-polls in Madhya Pradesh -- Vijayraghavgarh and Agar - while the Congress saved itself from embarrassment by wresting the Bahoriband seat away from the ruling party.
The Agar seat was a major prestigious issue for the BJP as it has lost the seat only thrice since independence. This seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, was won by party leader Gopal Parmar by a margin of 2,7720 votes.
In Vijayraghavgarh, BJP leader Sanjay Pathak registered victory by over 53,000 votes.
Interestingly, Mr Pathak, a Congress legislator from Vijayraghavgarh, switched parties just before the Lok Sabha polls. In the 2013 assmebly polls, Mr Pathak had won the seat by a narrow margin of 929 votes.
"I am elated. This result has, in a way, given me an endorsement from the people of the constituency that my decision to join the BJP was correct. Now with PM (Narendra) Modi at the Centre, Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) in the state and me in this post, it would only mean more progress and development for the people," he said.
But the BJP's hope about a clean sweep in the by-elections was thwarted by the Congress' Saurabh Singh Sisodiya, who won the Bahoriband seat, held earlier by the BJP, by a margin of over 8,000 votes. BJP had fielded Pranay Pandey, son of sitting MLA Prabhat Pandey, who had passed away a few months ago.
But the ruling party claims Mr Sisodiya's victory to the 'BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) factor', not the Congress, as he had quit the former to join the latter just before the polls.
"It does not matter who switched from which party. There are many examples of this in the BJP as well. What is important is that the people have selected me and I will work for their welfare," said Mr Sisodiya.
The Agar seat was a major prestigious issue for the BJP as it has lost the seat only thrice since independence. This seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, was won by party leader Gopal Parmar by a margin of 2,7720 votes.
In Vijayraghavgarh, BJP leader Sanjay Pathak registered victory by over 53,000 votes.
Interestingly, Mr Pathak, a Congress legislator from Vijayraghavgarh, switched parties just before the Lok Sabha polls. In the 2013 assmebly polls, Mr Pathak had won the seat by a narrow margin of 929 votes.
"I am elated. This result has, in a way, given me an endorsement from the people of the constituency that my decision to join the BJP was correct. Now with PM (Narendra) Modi at the Centre, Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) in the state and me in this post, it would only mean more progress and development for the people," he said.
But the BJP's hope about a clean sweep in the by-elections was thwarted by the Congress' Saurabh Singh Sisodiya, who won the Bahoriband seat, held earlier by the BJP, by a margin of over 8,000 votes. BJP had fielded Pranay Pandey, son of sitting MLA Prabhat Pandey, who had passed away a few months ago.
But the ruling party claims Mr Sisodiya's victory to the 'BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) factor', not the Congress, as he had quit the former to join the latter just before the polls.
"It does not matter who switched from which party. There are many examples of this in the BJP as well. What is important is that the people have selected me and I will work for their welfare," said Mr Sisodiya.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
