Bypolls: BJP loses Kairana, wins Palghar in crucial elections
The counting of bypolls for four Lok Sabha seats started on Thursday morning. The seats that went into elections on Monday were Kairana (Uttar Pradesh), Palghar (Maharashtra), Bhandara-Gondiya (Maharashtra) and Nagaland. It was the defeat in Western Uttar Pradesh's Kairana that shocked BJP and elated the united Opposition. The party retained Palghar.
United Opposition unseats BJP from Kairana, sends shock waves
Repeating the formula of Gorakhpur and Phulpur by-elections in March, the opposition- SP, BSP and Congress- joined hands with RLD to field Tabassum Hasan against BJP's Mriganka Singh. After an early lead, Mriganka trailed by more than 40,000 seats. Calling it a victory of truth, Hasan said both Muslims and Hindus had rejected BJP's politics, and a united opposition could defeat it in 2019.
BJP wins Palghar seat, Sena's Sanjay Raut blames EVMs
In the prestigious Palghar seat, BJP's Gavit Rajendra Dhedya defeated Shiv Sena's Shrinivas Chintaman Vanaga by 29,572 votes. While the counting was underway and showed BJP's lead, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut blamed faulty EVMs. He said, "Names of about 50-60,00 people were missing from the voter list. Also, within 12 hours of voting ends, EC changed vote percentage."
Close battle between NCP and BJP in Bhandara-Gondia
After the fourth round of counting, the NCP took a lead in Bhandara-Gondia, but soon tables turned in BJP's favor. As per latest reports, BJP's Hemant Patle has taken a lead of 3,193 votes against NCP's Madhukar Kukde. The final figure will be clear after a while. BJP brought in big guns like Smriti Irani and Yogi Adityanath for campaigning in this Maharashtra constituency.
Ruling NDPP takes lead in Nagaland Lok Sabha elections
Neiphiu Rio had vacated his Lok Sabha seat after being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Nagaland, necessitating the elections. According to latest reports, Tokheho Yepthomi of ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) surged ahead of C Apok Jamir of the Naga People's Front (NPF) by over 34,000 votes. NDPP is a BJP ally.
What the bypoll results mean for 2019 general elections
More than anything, the results in Kairana, a BJP stronghold, is enough to fan the opposition's determination that a united front can stall the saffron's party march in the general elections in 2019. This also means BJP needs to rethink its strategy ahead of polls.
