INDIA bloc secures major victory in assembly bypolls, wins 10 out of 13 seats

New Delhi, Jul 13: In a decisive triumph, the INDIA bloc has emerged victorious in the recent assembly bypolls, capturing 10 out of the 13 contested seats. The NDA managed to secure only two seats, while an Independent candidate claimed victory in Bihar’s Rupauli Assembly constituency.

Votes were counted on Saturday for the by-elections held across seven states. The bypolls took place in four seats in West Bengal, three in Himachal Pradesh, two in Uttarakhand, and one each in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu.

The Indian National Congress (INC), All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) were among the INDIA bloc parties that fielded candidates.

In Bihar, Independent candidate Shankar Singh won the Rupauli constituency, defeating JD(U)’s Kaladhar Prasad Mandal by 8,246 votes.

In Himachal Pradesh, Kamlesh Thakur of the INC, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, won the Dehra seat, defeating BJP’s Hoshiyar Singh by 9,399 votes. Ashish Sharma of the BJP won in Hamirpur, while Hardeep Singh Bawa of the INC secured the Nalagarh seat.

The BJP claimed victory in Madhya Pradesh, with Kamlesh Pratap Shah winning the Amarwara constituency by a margin of 3,027 votes against Congress’ Dheeran Sah Invati.

In Punjab, AAP’s Mohinder Bhagat won the Jalandhar West seat, defeating BJP nominee Sheetal Angural by 37,325 votes. This seat became vacant after Angural resigned from AAP and joined BJP in March.

Tamil Nadu saw DMK’s Anniyur Siva win the Vikravandi constituency, defeating NDA’s Pattali Makkal Katchi’s Ambumani C by 67,757 votes.

In Uttarakhand, the INC achieved a clean sweep with Lakhapat Singh Butola winning in Badrinath and Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin securing the Manglaur seat.

West Bengal witnessed a strong performance by the TMC, with Krishna Kalyani winning in Raiganj, Mukut Mani Adhikari in Ranaghat Dakshin, Madhuparna Thakur in Bagda, and Supti Pandey in Maniktala. TMC candidates defeated their BJP rivals with significant margins in all four constituencies.

Reacting to the results, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi hailed the victory as a triumph for the constitution and the nation. "The results of the by-elections in 7 states have made it clear that the web of 'fear and confusion' woven by the BJP has been broken," he said. INC spokesperson Pawan Khera called the mandate a "resounding verdict against the BJP’s policies and governance," emphasizing the public's rejection of the BJP’s approach.