Trinamool Congress’ Gita Rani Bhunia won the bye-election held on Thursday in West Bengal’s Sabang Assembly constituency, ANI reported after the counting of votes on Sunday. Bharatiya Janata Party candidates won in Arunachal Pradesh’s Pakke-Kessang and Likabali constituencies and also in Uttar Pradesh’s Sikandra.
The bye-elections were held in five constituencies, including Tamil Nadu’s RK Nagar, on Thursday.
In Sabang, Bhunia won by nearly 19,000 votes, India Today reported. Bye-elections were held after her husband and sitting Congress MLA Manas Ranjan Bhunia was elected to Rajya Sabha on a TMC ticket.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Sikandra seat, the BJP’s Ajit Pal Singh defeated Samajwadi Party’s Seema Sachan by 7,000 votes , News18 reported. The seat had fallen vacant after BJP MLA Mathura Prasad Pal succumbed to an illness on July 22.
In Arunachal Pradesh’s Pakke-Kessang, BJP candidate BR Waghe eked out a narrow victory by a margin of 475 votes, in a contest against former Deputy Chief Minister Kameng Dolo, who fought on a Congress ticket. Waghe won 3,517 votes, while Dolo bagged 3,042, PTI reported.
In the Likabali seat, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Kardo Nyigyor got 3,461 votes, while Gumke Riba of the Peoples Party of Arunachal came second with 3,156 votes. The seat fell vacant after the death of state minister Jomde Kena in September. 23 voters had opted for None of The Above.
The BJP now has 49 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly, while nine are from the PPA, one from the Congress and one Independent legislator.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Sikandra, Likabali and Pakke Kessang for supporting the BJP. “Our commitment to serving India’s villages and taking them to new heights of progress is unwavering,” Modi said on Twitter. He also congratulated Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath and the state’s BJP unit.
In another tweet, the prime minister said: “We derive immense strength from this affection and remain committed to transforming the Northeast.”
He also expressed happiness on the significant rise in the BJP’s vote share in Sabang. “I thank the people for their support and assure them that BJP will leave no stone unturned in serving West Bengal,” he added.
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