BJP has won four of the 10 seats where by-elections were held.
The BJP has retained its bastion in Himachal Pradesh, the Bhoranj Assembly seat, with Dr Anil Dhiman defeating his nearest rival, Congress's Promila Devi by 8,290 votes. With the victory, the strength of the opposition BJP has increased to 28 in the 68-member House. The victory is seen as a shot in the arm for the party, which hopes to make a comeback in the assembly polls in the state, which are scheduled to be held later this year.
Mr Dhiman is the son of BJP stalwart and former minister Ishwar Dass Dhiman, who won the seat six consecutive times since 1990. He made his electoral debut when the seat fell vacant following the death of the former minister in November last year.
Mr Dhiman polled 24,453 votes against the 16,144 votes polled by Promila Devi. Pawan Chandel, a BJP rebel who contested as an Independent, polled 4,630 votes.
The BJP has emerged as the big winner in the
latest round of by-elections across eight states. It has
won in four seats and is leading in two of the 10 seats where polling was held.
The party has wrested the
Rajouri Garden seat from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the coming civic elections in Delhi. In Rajasthan, it has won the Dholpur seat from Mayawati's BSP.
In Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Madhya Pradesh, it has won Bandhavgarh and is leading in Ater. In Assam, another BJP-ruled state, it has won the by-polls in Dhemaji.
The
Congress, which is ruling Karnataka, has won Nanjangud and leading in Gundlupet - the two seats it held.