The Congress sprung a surprise victory in Himachal Pradesh today, wresting two BJP seats in the state and one in Karnataka as votes were counted for 29 assembly seats and three Lok Sabha seats. In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress retained Fatehpur and Arki and posted a win in Jubbal-Kotkhai -- thanks to the infighting and miscalculation by the BJP. It also bagged the Lok Sabha seat of Mandi.
The party hailed it as a straight victory in contests against the BJP. Senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala tweeted: "BJP has lost 2 out of 3 Lok Sabha seats. In Assemblies, BJP has lost at most places in direct contest with INC. HP, Raj., Karnataka & Maharashtra have witnessed it. Modi ji, Shed arrogance! Repeal 3 Black Laws! Stop Petrol-Diesel-Gas Loot! Disdain for people's pain is harmful".
"Every victory for the Congress is a victory of our party worker. Keep fighting hate. No fear!" tweeted Congress's Rahul Gandhi.
While traditionally, the party in power in a state wins the by-polls, the Congress managed to retain Fatehpur and Arki in Himachal Pradesh. Off the record, state leaders attributed it to anti-incumbency, petrol price rise and unemployment.
The assembly by-elections which saw a high turnout were held in five seats in Assam, four in West Bengal, three each in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, two each in Bihar, Karnataka and Rajasthan and one seat each is in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Mizoram and Telangana.
Out of the 29 Assembly seats, the BJP had won in around half a dozen constituencies earlier, the Congress had nine, while the rest were with the regional parties.
Here are the Highlights on Bypoll results 2021 today:
The BJP, Congress and the Shiv Sena are leading in one each of the three Lok Sabha seats where bypolls were held on Saturday. Of these, the BJP is retaining Khandwa -- the constituency in Madhya Pradesh -- where Gyaneshwar Patil is leading the field. Read more
Shiv Sena candidate Kalaben Delkar, the wife of former independent MP late Mohan Delkar, took a decisive lead of over 15,000 votes as counting was underway on Tuesday for the by-election to the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabh seat. The counting of votes commenced at 8.30 am in Karad area of Silvassa city in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which is part of the Union Territory of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The bypoll for this parliamentary seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, was held on October 30. After the completion of 11 rounds of counting, Kalaben Delkar was leading by over 15,000 votes.
The Congress was leading in Mandi parliamentary seat and in the assembly constituency of Arki whereas the BJP was leading in Fatehpur on Tuesday, according to available trends for bypolls in Himachal Pradesh. Independent candidate Chetan Singh Bragta is ahead in the Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly seat. In Mandi parliamentary seat, late chief minister Virbhadra Singh's wife Pratibha Singh of the Congress is leading with 5,920 votes over her nearest rival, Kargil war hero Brigadier (retd) Khushal Thakur of the BJP.
The winning streak of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee looks set to continue through the by-polls, where her Trinamool Congress is on track to wrest two seats won by the BJP in the April-May state polls. The party is ahead in all four seats where by-elections were held. Read more
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav today exuded confidence and said that his party will win the bypolls by a "handsome margin" as the counting of votes for the two assembly seats began this morning.
The RJD leader said that he along with party workers are closely monitoring the situation on the ground to ensure that the mandate is not "stolen by anybody". Read more
INLD secretary general Abhay Singh Chautala is maintaining his lead over his nearest rival Gobind Kanda of the BJP, with a margin of 2,270 votes in the Ellenabad assembly constituency in Haryana. Counting of votes for the October 30 bypoll to the seat is in progress. The bypoll was necessitated after Chautala in January resigned as the MLA from the seat in protest against three central farm laws and to stand in solidarity with the farmers who are protesting against these legislations since last year November.
The BJP is ahead in one of three Assembly seats that went for bypolls last week, and is neck-and-neck with the Congress in the race for the single Lok Sabha seat up for grab in the state.
The lead for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat is swinging back and forth between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, in a
The BJP has fielded Kargil war hero Brigadier (retd) Khushal Chand Thakur and the Congress has fielded Pratibha Singh, who is the wife of the late former six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. Read more
Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Pratibha Singh is leading with 1,33,458 votes against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Brigadier Khushal Chand Thakur who has secured 1,28,754 votes in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, as per initial trends. According to the Election Commission data at 10.10 am on Tuesday, Rashtriya Lokneeti Party's Ambika Shyam has secured 1,281 votes. While Himachal Jan Kranti Party's candidate Munshi Ram Thakur has secured 536 votes.
The BJP was leading in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency and Raigaon Assembly seat, as per early trends of vote counting underway on Tuesday for the bypolls held in the state. Besides these two seats, by-elections for Jobat (reserved for ST) and Prithvipur Assembly seats in the state were also held on October 30.
Of the 29 seats, the BJP held six seats and the Congress nine. The rest were with regional parties.
In Dadra and Nagar Haveli, seven-time Independent MP Mohan Delkar's wife Kalaben Delkar is contesting as a Shiv Sena candidate against BJP's Mahesh Gavit and Congress' Mahesh Dhodi.
In Mandi, Pratibha Singh is contesting against BJP candidate Khushal Singh Thakur, a Kargil war hero.
Lok Sabha seats for which by-elections were held are Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh. The sitting members had died in all three constituencies.
The assembly by-elections - held on October 30 -- were held for five seats in Assam, four in Bengal, three each in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, two each in Bihar, Karnataka and Rajasthan and one seat each is in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Mizoram and Telangana.
Counting of votes for three Lok Sabha and 29 assembly seats across 13 states and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli will begin at 8 am. Of the 29 seats, the BJP held six seats, the Congress nine. The rest were with regional parties.