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.
