Out of the 18 seats in four states for which bypolls were held on 21 August, the Congress and its allies won 10 while seven went to BJP and one to its ally Shiromani Akali Dal. This is the second defeat for BJP in bypolls, having earlier lost all the three seats in Uttrarakhand, where by-elections were held late last month.
With a major test of popularity ahead in assembly polls in four states of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir later this year, the BJP along with its allies, fared badly especially in Bihar which it had swept winning 33 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in May this year. It managed to retain just four out of six seats it had won in 2010 assembly election. Millennium Post was the first to report that BJP will not perform well in bypolls in Bihar.
While hailing the success of the grand alliance, JD (U) national president Sharad Yadav said it’s the victory of common people of the state. Talking to Millennium Post, Sharad Yadav said, ‘We knew it is going to happen. BJP performed well in Lok Sabha as JD(U) and RJD – the Janata Dal’s two factions – were divided. Now, since we are together, BJP is not going to win even single upcoming election.’
Replying to a question on chances of JD (U) and RJD merger in the near future, Yadav said, ‘As we are already in alliance; there is no need of merger. We together are enough to puncture the Modi wave, created to befool the aam aadmi.’ Jubilant about the results RJD president Lalu Prasad said, ‘I thank the people of Bihar for making the grand alliance win. Voters across the country have rectified the mistakes made in Lok Sabha elections.’ Prasad, who is admitted in a Mumbai hospital, released the statement on micro blogging site Twitter.
Buoyed by the victory, former chief minister Nitish Kumar said the voters have expressed their ‘displeasure’ with the Modi government and suggested that the alliance would be broadened to include Left parties to check BJP’s ‘communal agenda’.
‘Sadhbhav ki bhavna ki jeet hui hai (It’s victory of spirit of goodwill),’ the former chief minister said. Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad said, ‘All have gained from the alliance (RJD-JDU-Congress), a positive sign.’
Shocked by the results, BJP leader and state’s former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, ‘We will evaluate why we lost, where we could have done better.’ A faction of the BJP has been projecting Modi as CM candidate, which has been widely resented. BJP won Narkatiaganj, Hajipur, Banka and Mohania (SC) seats. RJD stood victorious in Rajnagar (SC), Chapra and Mohiuddinagar, while ruling JD (U) won in Jale and Parbatta and Congress wrested Bhagalpur from BJP. In Banka, BJP candidate Ramnarayan Mandal defeated his nearest RJD rival Iqbal Hussain Ansari by a slender margin of 711 votes.
In Punjab, ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress won one seat each. Congress leader and former union minister Preneet Kaur, wife of Captain Amrinder Singh, won Patiala (Urban) assembly seat by 23,836 votes. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had made a stunning debut in the state in the Lok Sabha polls winning four out of 13 seats in Punjab, lost its deposit in Patiala.
In Karnataka, BJP candidate BY Raghavendra, son of BS Yeddyurappa, won Shikaripura assembly seat in Karnataka by 6,430 votes, while Congress won an important borough by wresting Bellary rural seat from the BJP. In Madhya Pradesh, Congress wrested Bahoriband assembly seat from BJP which won Agar and Vijayraghavgarh seats in the by-elections. Sourabh Singh, who joined Congress recently after quitting BSP, won from Bahoriband by a margin of 7,977 votes.
With a major test of popularity ahead in assembly polls in four states of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir later this year, the BJP along with its allies, fared badly especially in Bihar which it had swept winning 33 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in May this year. It managed to retain just four out of six seats it had won in 2010 assembly election. Millennium Post was the first to report that BJP will not perform well in bypolls in Bihar.
While hailing the success of the grand alliance, JD (U) national president Sharad Yadav said it’s the victory of common people of the state. Talking to Millennium Post, Sharad Yadav said, ‘We knew it is going to happen. BJP performed well in Lok Sabha as JD(U) and RJD – the Janata Dal’s two factions – were divided. Now, since we are together, BJP is not going to win even single upcoming election.’
Replying to a question on chances of JD (U) and RJD merger in the near future, Yadav said, ‘As we are already in alliance; there is no need of merger. We together are enough to puncture the Modi wave, created to befool the aam aadmi.’ Jubilant about the results RJD president Lalu Prasad said, ‘I thank the people of Bihar for making the grand alliance win. Voters across the country have rectified the mistakes made in Lok Sabha elections.’ Prasad, who is admitted in a Mumbai hospital, released the statement on micro blogging site Twitter.
Buoyed by the victory, former chief minister Nitish Kumar said the voters have expressed their ‘displeasure’ with the Modi government and suggested that the alliance would be broadened to include Left parties to check BJP’s ‘communal agenda’.
‘Sadhbhav ki bhavna ki jeet hui hai (It’s victory of spirit of goodwill),’ the former chief minister said. Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad said, ‘All have gained from the alliance (RJD-JDU-Congress), a positive sign.’
Shocked by the results, BJP leader and state’s former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, ‘We will evaluate why we lost, where we could have done better.’ A faction of the BJP has been projecting Modi as CM candidate, which has been widely resented. BJP won Narkatiaganj, Hajipur, Banka and Mohania (SC) seats. RJD stood victorious in Rajnagar (SC), Chapra and Mohiuddinagar, while ruling JD (U) won in Jale and Parbatta and Congress wrested Bhagalpur from BJP. In Banka, BJP candidate Ramnarayan Mandal defeated his nearest RJD rival Iqbal Hussain Ansari by a slender margin of 711 votes.
In Punjab, ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress won one seat each. Congress leader and former union minister Preneet Kaur, wife of Captain Amrinder Singh, won Patiala (Urban) assembly seat by 23,836 votes. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had made a stunning debut in the state in the Lok Sabha polls winning four out of 13 seats in Punjab, lost its deposit in Patiala.
In Karnataka, BJP candidate BY Raghavendra, son of BS Yeddyurappa, won Shikaripura assembly seat in Karnataka by 6,430 votes, while Congress won an important borough by wresting Bellary rural seat from the BJP. In Madhya Pradesh, Congress wrested Bahoriband assembly seat from BJP which won Agar and Vijayraghavgarh seats in the by-elections. Sourabh Singh, who joined Congress recently after quitting BSP, won from Bahoriband by a margin of 7,977 votes.