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The AAP, smarting from recent reverses in Delhi, won two out of the five bypolls in assembly seats – one in Gujarat and the other in Punjab, where it is the ruling party
AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj and Sanjay Singh with others celebrate after the party won the bypoll from Punjab’s Ludhiana West and Gujarat’s Visavadar assembly seats, on June 23. (Image: AAP/PTI)
A 13-year-old girl was killed on Monday in a blast that ripped through a TMC procession in West Bengal as the Mamata Banerjee-led party revelled in its resounding victory on the Kaliganj assembly seat. Bypoll results, however, gave a much-needed fillip to the AAP as it won two seats even as the BJP and Congress both featured in single wins.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), smarting from recent reverses in Delhi and the Arvind Kejriwal conundrum, won two out of the five bypolls in assembly seats – one in Gujarat and the other in Punjab, where it is the ruling party. The Congress, meanwhile, got a welcome boost by winning a seat in Kerala ahead of the assembly elections in the southern state next year.
After the AAP’s performance in the bypolls, Kejriwal claimed that a “typhoon will come in 2027″ when his party will defeat both the Congress and BJP as people liked its work.
The BJP, meanwhile, won a single seat in Gujarat and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) managed to retain the seat in West Bengal.
But, there were setbacks too.
The Congress, which is seeking to strengthen the organisation in Gujarat by appointing new district party chiefs, suffered a setback with state party president Shaktisinh Gohil stepping down, taking moral responsibility for the loss on the two seats.
WHO WON?
In Gujarat, the BJP’s Rajendra Chavda won the Kadi seat while AAP’s former state unit chief Gopal Italia emerged victorious in Visavadar after the results were declared.
The AAP also won the Ludhiana (West) assembly seat in Punjab where its candidate Sanjeev Arora defeated Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress by more than 10,600 votes. Both the seats were earlier held by the AAP.
In West Bengal, the TMC registered a landslide victory in the Kaliganj assembly seat as Alifa Ahmed defeated her BJP opponent while Aryadan Shoukath helped the Congress-led UDF in wresting the Nilambur seat from the ruling LDF in Kerala.
AAP RETAINS SEATS IN PUNJAB AND GUJARAT
Buoyed by the victory of the AAP candidates in Punjab and Gujarat, Kejriwal used the opportunity to woo the Congress workers and voters, saying it is only his party that can defeat the BJP as the Congress cannot.
He alleged that the Congress top brass is “hand in glove” with the BJP, claiming they fought the “bypolls together and worked to help ensure BJP’s victory”.
“Some people say this is the semi-final to 2027. We can think that if this is the semi-final and 2022 was a storm, then there will be a typhoon in 2027,” Kejriwal told reporters. “This shows that we are doing good work in Punjab…a huge margin win, the people of Punjab have given their stamp of approval on AAP’s work in the state.”
Both Gujarat and Punjab will face assembly elections in 2027. He said the ruling party often wins bypolls, but AAP’s victory in Gujarat shows people are fed up with 30 years of BJP rule.
“They now see AAP as a credible alternative,” he noted. “These bypolls showed how Congress leadership helped BJP just to defeat AAP. Congress has become the kathputli (puppet) of the BJP. I request Congress workers to realise this and join the AAP.”
WEST BENGAL
The TMC retained the Kaliganj assembly seat in West Bengal as party candidate Alifa Ahmed registered a landslide victory by a margin of 50,049 votes against BJP’s Ashish Ghosh. The party said this was due to “people’s love” and their faith in Mamata Banerjee’s development politics.
In a post on X, TMC leader Derek O’Brien said since the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, his party has won all 11 bypolls held in the state with a vote share higher than that registered in the general elections. The BJP claimed that it received its highest-ever share of Hindu votes in the Kaliganj constituency due to a rising “Hindutva consciousness” and backlash against Murshidabad riots and the next assembly election will be a “full-blown revolution”.
Calling the election results long before the final figures were in, Banerjee congratulated the people of Kaliganj and expressed her gratitude to them.
“People of all religions, castes, races and walks of life in the area have blessed us immensely by exercising their right to vote in the by-elections to the Kaliganj Assembly constituency. I humbly express my gratitude to them. The main architects of this victory are ‘Maa, Mati, and Manush’. My colleagues from Kaliganj have worked tirelessly for this. I also extend my heartfelt congratulations to them. My greetings and salutations to everyone,” she said in a post on her X handle.
She added: “Remembering the late MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed, I dedicate this victory to the motherland and people of Bengal.”
KERALA
After Aryadan Shoukath’s win over CPI(M) state secretariat member M Swaraj in Kerala, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said working as a team, with pointed focus, is the most important lesson of success.
Shoukath said the outcome was expected. “It was a victory anticipated by the people of Kerala — a major win against the LDF government,” he said.
Swaraj said the LDF will closely examine the results but rejected suggestions of anti-incumbency against the Left government. This is, however, the fourth byelection defeat for the front during the ongoing tenure of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government. It earlier lost in Puthuppally, Palakkad and Thrikkakara assembly segments.
BLAST IN BENGAL AFTER BYPOLL RESULTS
In an incident of post-poll violence in West Bengal, a 13-year-old girl was killed in a bomb explosion during the TMC’s victory procession in Kaliganj police station area. Party workers were celebrating their candidate Alifa Ahmed’s landslide victory when the explosion happened.
The West Bengal police said the girl succumbed to her injuries sustained from the blast. They said the police are conducting raids to nab the culprits.
“Today, a 13-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries sustained from an explosion in the Kaliganj PS area of Krishnanagar police district. We shall spare no stone unturned to nab the culprits who were behind the incident. Raids are on in full swing to arrest those responsible for this extremely unfortunate death,” the police said.
Banerjee expressed shock over the incident and directed police to “take strong and decisive legal action”. “I am shocked and deeply saddened at the death of a young girl in an explosion at Barochandgar in Krishnanagar police district. My prayers and thoughts are with the family in their hour of grief. Police shall take strong and decisive legal action against the culprits at the earliest,” she wrote on X.
BJP AND 18-YEAR JINX IN GUJARAT
The ruling BJP in Gujarat was unable to end its 18-year jinx in Visavadar, losing to the AAP despite a strong campaign. In Kadi seat of Mehsana district, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, Rajendra Chavda emerged victorious by a margin of 39,452 votes over Ramesh Chavda of the Congress.
The BJP leaders said it was hoping to break the 18-year jinx in Visavadar, where the party last tasted victory in 2007. After his victory, Italia said the BJP failed to win despite putting all its efforts in Visavadar, a seat once represented by former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel.
Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave said his party failed to convince Visavadar’s voters. The BJP accepts the people’s mandate and will try to win in the 2027 assembly elections, he said.
(With PTI inputs)
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
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