Bye-poll results: CM Manik Saha wins in Tripura, BJP defeats Samajwadi Party in Rampur and Azamgarh

Tripura Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manik Saha on Sunday won the bye-election from the state’s Town Bardowali constituency, as per the Election Commission data.

Manik Saha won by 6,104 votes against Congress candidate Ashish Kumar Saha. With the electoral victory, he can now continue as chief minister. The saffron party won three out of the four Assembly seats in the state.

In Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader Simranjit Singh Mann won from the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency. The election here was necessitated after AAP leader Bhagwant Mann resigned from the seat in order to become the Punjab chief minister.

In Uttar Pradesh, BJP candidate Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi defeated Samajwadi Party’s Mohammed Asim Raja by 42,192 votes in the Rampur constituency. The saffron party’s candidate also won the Azamgarh constituency.

Bye-elections took place in three Lok Sabha seats and seven Assembly constituencies on June 23. The counting of votes is underway.

Here is a roundup of bye-election results from other states:

Punjab

Simranjit Singh Mann defeated Aam Aadmi Party candidate Gurmail Singh by 5,822 votes in Punjab’s Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency.

While 2,53,154 votes were polled in favour of Mann, Singh could only manage 2,47,332 votes, data from the Election Commission showed.

Congress candidate Dalvir Singh Goldy won just 11.24% of the vote, while the BJP’s Kewal Singh Dhillon had won 9.39% of the votes.

Simranjit Singh Mann said on Twitter that he was grateful to the voters of Sangrur for having elected him. “I will work hard to ameliorate the sufferings of our farmers, farm-labour, traders and everyone in my constituency,” he said.

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said he accepts the voters’ verdict, and congratulated Mann. “The result reflects displeasure of public with Aam Aadmi Party’s insensitive and inept governance,” he added.

On June 23, Sangrur recorded a voter turnout of just 37.01%. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the constituency had recorded a voter turnout of 72.44%.

Uttar Pradesh

In Rampur, where the bye-poll took place due to the resignation of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, Lodhi emerged victorious with 3,67,397 votes. His rival, Samajwadi Party’s Mohammed Asim Raja received 3,25,205 votes.

Meanwhile, the saffron party’s candidate, Bhojpuri actor Dinesh Lal Yadav defeated Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav in the Azamgarh constituency by 8,679 votes.

The bye-poll in Azamgarh was necessitated after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav resigned from his Lok Sabha seat after he was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

Delhi

In Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar Assembly constituency, AAP leader Durgesh Pathak won against the BJP’s Rajesh Bhatia by a margin of 11,468 votes. The bye-election took place as AAP leader Raghav Chadha vacated the seat after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha on March 21.

Party chief Arvind Kejriwal thanked the voters of the constituency, and said the result inspires them to put in more hard work.

Jharkhand

Congress candidate Shilpi Neha Tirkey defeated BJP’s Gangotri Kujur by 23,690 votes in Jharkhand’s Mandar constituency, according to the Election Commission.

The bye-polls took place due to the disqualification of Congress MLA Bandhu Tirkey after he was convicted in a corruption case. Shilpi Neha Tirkey is the daughter of the former Congress MLA.

Andhra Pradesh

In Andhra Pradesh’s Atmakur constituency, the YSR Congress’ Mekapati Vikram Reddy defeated the BJP’s Bharath Kumar Gundlapalli by 82,888 votes.

The bye-election was held due to the death of state Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy in February. Vikram Reddy is the former minister’s younger brother.

Tripura

In Tripura, the BJP won the bye-elections at Jubarajnagar, Surma, and Town Bardowali constituency.

The Congress won the Agartala constituency. Here, its party leader Sudip Roy Barman defeated the BJP’s Ashok Sinha by 3,163 votes.

After the results were announced, the Congress alleged that its party’s office in Agartala was attacked by members of the BJP.

“BJP goons cannot accept people’s decision and again attacked Congress Bhawan in Tripura, injuring Tripura Congress President Birajit Sinha and other Congress workers,” Congress leader KC Venugopal wrote in a tweet. “This act is highly condemnable and strict action must be taken against the culprits.”