Major Wins for Congress-Led Coalition Across Seven States
In a significant boost for the opposition parties, the Congress-led INDIA bloc secured major victories in ten out of the 13 Assembly seats that went to bypolls in seven states of India on July 10. The Election Commission of India (ECI) data released on Saturday confirmed the triumphs.
Limited Success for BJP
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to secure victories in only two seats, while an Independent candidate won the remaining seat in Bihar. The results mark a notable shift in political dynamics, highlighting a growing support for the opposition coalition.
Reactions from Congress Leadership
The Congress party celebrated the bypoll results, with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi asserting that the BJP’s influence has waned. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gandhi stated, “The people of India have saved the Constitution and democracy. The deprived and poor population of the country stood with India to protect their rights. Congratulations to all the alliance partners and the lion workers of Congress.”
Rahul Gandhi further emphasized that various societal groups, including farmers, youth, laborers, and businessmen, are seeking to dismantle authoritarianism and establish justice.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge praised party workers, stating that the victory demonstrates a rejection of the BJP’s “arrogance, misgovernance, and negative politics.”
Detailed Bypoll Results
By-elections were conducted across 13 constituencies in seven states, including:
- West Bengal: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the bypolls, winning Raiganj, Bagda, and Ranaghat Dakshin seats from the BJP and securing a record victory margin in Maniktala.
- Uttarakhand: Congress’s Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin won the Manglaur seat for the fourth time, narrowly defeating BJP’s Kartar Singh Bhadana by 422 votes.
- Punjab: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Mohinder Bhagat triumphed in the Jalandhar West seat, defeating BJP nominee Sheetal Angural by a margin of 37,325 votes.
- Tamil Nadu: DMK’s Anniyur Siva emerged victorious in the Vikravandi assembly constituency, defeating NDA constituent PMK’s Ambumani C by 67,757 votes.
- Madhya Pradesh: BJP’s Kamlesh Pratap Shah won the Amarwara assembly seat by 3,027 votes against Congress’s Dheeran Sah Invati.
- Bihar: Independent candidate Shankar Singh won the Rupauli seat, defeating JD(U)’s Kaladhar Prasad Mandal by 8,246 votes.
- Himachal Pradesh: The bypoll results ensured a historic moment with husband and wife Sukhvinder Sukhu and Kamlesh Thakur becoming members of the Himachal Pradesh assembly.
BJP’s Response
Despite the opposition’s celebrations, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya argued that the results are not a significant setback for the ruling party. Malviya pointed out that most of the seats were not previously held by the BJP and questioned the fairness of the elections in West Bengal.
“Let me kill the Opposition’s euphoria on the by-poll results. Of the 13 seats that went to poll, 9 were not held by the BJP! Himachal Pradesh – Independents held all 3 seats. Uttarakhand – Congress held both seats. Madhya Pradesh – BJP won the seat earlier held by Congress. Bengal – TMC held 1. But the elections were rigged, so makes no sense to deliberate. Punjab – AAP retained their seat. Tamil Nadu – DMK held the seat. Therefore, except Bengal, where elections were not free and fair, the results reflect status quo. But I.N.D.I Alliance can claim moral victory!” Malviya wrote in an X post.
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