By-Elections 2018: Voters wait to cast their vote at a polling station during Ajmer by-election. (PTI)
The Congress is leading in two crucial parliament seats, Alwar and Ajmer, for which bye-elections were held in Rajasthan. Both seats were held by the BJP. The BJP is leading in the Mandalgarh assembly seat. Two Rajasthan Lok Sabha constituencies and one Assembly constituency went to the polls on Monday, January 29. Simultaneously, the Lok Sabha constituency of Uluberia and the Assembly constituency of Noapara - both of which are in West Bengal also went to polls on Monday. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is ahead in by-elections to the parliamentary seat of Uluberia, which it held, and also in the Noapara assembly seat, held by the Congress
In Rajasthan these elections are seen to test of the popularity of the BJP government, which hopes to win a second straight term in assembly elections later this year. The by-elections were held four days after the release of controversial Bollywood film "Padmaavat" and the Rajputs, nearly two lakh voters in Ajmer, had declared that they will vote against the BJP. The Congress hopes an anti-incumbency sentiment and the anger of the Rajputs against the ruling party will help it win all three - the Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha seats and the Mandalgarh assembly seat. All three are BJP seats. They fell vacant due to the death last year of the BJP lawmakers who held them. The counting of all the three seats have begun.
Here are the Highlights of the By-Poll results:
In Noapara, one of 44 assembly seats the Congress had won in the 2016 state elections, it could win only 10,527 votes. The vote margin between winner Trinamool Congress and runners-up BJP was 63,018.
Mamata Banerjee's ruling Trinamool Congress snatched the Noapara Assembly seat from the Congress while retaining the Uluberia parliamentary constituency. The BJP has kept up its recent good run in the state and is second in both.
BJP Accepts Defeat In Rajasthan Bypolls, Vows To Work Harder
Rahul Gandhi congratulates Congress, calls bypoll results "rejection of BJP by Rajasthan"
After the Congress' win in Rajasthan bypolls, which came a s a huge blow to the BJP, Congress President Rahul Gandhi congratulated party workers on Twitter and said that this was a clear "rejection of the BJP by the people of Rajasthan."
"Will work harder for 2019": BJP on Rajasthan by-polls
BJP state president Ashok Parnami holds a press conference over party's defeat in Alwar, Ajmer and Mandalgarh. "We will work harder and form government in 2019," he said.
Trinamool Congress' Uluberia win historic, victory by a huge margin, say reports
Party workers celebrate Congress' success in Rajasthan by-polls with a burst of colours
Congress wins Mandalgarh seat despite a party rebel leading to a triangular contest
Rajasthan Bypolls: 3/3 For Congress In Rajasthan, Seven Months Ahead Of State PollsThe Congress appears set to win its first seats in Rajasthan since it was wiped out for a duck in the 2014 national election. The party has won the Mandalgarh assembly seat and is leading in the Ajmer and Alwar parliamentary seats - all held by the ruling BJP - in crucial by-polls seen as a preview of state elections due later this year." itemprop="description
Congress's Vivek Dhakad has won Mandalgarh assembly seat by 12976 votes.
Congress set to win all three seats in Ajmer, Alwar, and Mandalgard in Rajasthan bypoll. It is leading by leading by 72,101 votes in Alwar, 66,920 in Ajmer and in Assembly seat mandalgarh, it is leading by 11,136 votes.
Congress candidate Raghu Sharma is leading with 154336 votes in Ajmer Lok Sabha seat.
Karan Singh Yadav of the Congress was ahead of Jaswant Singh Yadav of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Alwar by around 10,000 votes.
In Rajasthan by polls Congress is leading in Ajmer Lok Sabha by 20800 votes, in Alwar Lok Sabha by 43728 votes and in Mandalgarh assembly by 116 votes. This comes as big blow to the Vasundhara Raje government. The BJP has been in power in the state since 2013 and in the 2014 national election had won all the state's 25 seats.
In both the Bengal seats, the BJP put up a tough fight looking to bolster its claim that it is now Bengal's chief opposition party. The CPM too attempted to put up a fight to try and gain ground in the seats that were earlier strongholds. The Congress, however, was in the fourth position in both the constituencies.
The Trinamool Congress today surged ahead of its rivals in both Noapara assembly seat and Uluberia parliamentary constituency after the initial rounds of counting of votes for the bypolls.
Trinamool candidate Sunil Singh wins by 1,11,729 votes in Noapara by poll result.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said that, "Today's trends can be seen as precursor to not just state Assembly polls later this year but also next Lok Sabha polls. The Vasundhara Raje government hasn't done anything the past 4 year
The Congress, led by state chief Sachin Pilot, who had campaigned aggressively for the bye-elections says, "It is clear now that the current government has to leave. People have rejected Vasundhara Raje government and the trends speak for themselves."
In the Mandalgarh assembly seat by-poll trends, BJP is leading with 3072 votes according to ANI reports.
Congress is leading with 12,000 votes in Ajmer and 10,000 in Alwar. There are still 27 rounds to go before the results.
Visuals from the vote counting center in Ajmer. In Ajmer, the BJP has battled the anger of Rajput groups, who urged their community to vote against the ruling party over the controversy over the Bollywood movie "Padmaavat". They claim that the film distorts history and demanded a ban on it.