Bypoll results: BJP wins Tripura seats, SP wins Ghosi
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Boxanagar and Dhanpur bypolls in Tripura and Bageshwar in Uttarakhand on Friday, while the Congress retained Kerala's Puthuppally. The Trinamool Congress won in West Bengal's Dhupguri, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Bebi Devi won in Dumri. The Samajwadi Party's Sudhakar Singh, backed by the Congress, won in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi against the BJP's Dara Singh Chauhan.
Why does this story matter?
Seven assembly seats in six states went to byelections on Tuesday, which was dubbed a litmus test for the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The results could give a glimpse of the opposition bloc's standing against the BJP, setting the stage for the upcoming assembly elections in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
BJP's Tafajjal Hossain won Boxanagar by over 30,000 votes
The BJP, which is ruling in Tripura, wrested Boxanagar from the Communist Party of India-Marxist CPI(M), whose sitting MLA Samsul Haque's death necessitated the bypoll. The CPI(M) fielded Haque's son Mohammed Mijan Hossain with support from the Congress against the BJP's Tafajjal Hossain, who won by over 30,000 votes. Hossain was the runner-up in the state assembly elections this year.
End of road for communists: BJP
The Dhanpur bypoll, on the other hand, was announced following the resignation of BJP MP Pratima Bhoumik. She had won the Dhanpur seat in the assembly election but resigned to retain her Lok Sabha membership. The BJP fielded her brother Bindu Debnath. Elated with the victory, the BJP said it's the end of the road for communists in Tripura, a Left bastion until 2018.
Congress's five-decade stronghold over Puthupally prevails
The Congress retained its stronghold, Puthuppally, as Chandy Oommen swept the polls with a margin of nearly 38,000 votes. The seat was held by his father, Oommen Chandy, former Kerala chief minister, for over five decades until his death in July. Meanwhile, the BJP's Parvati Das defeated the Congress's Basant Kumar in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar.
