Ruling parties in three states and a Union Territory won the bye-elections to five assembly seats and one parliamentary constituency for which results were announced on Friday.
Adhikari won from two constituencies in the recent assembly polls but opted to retain Bhabanipur, from where he defeated former chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee had announced support for the Congress candidate after her pick, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew her nomination days before voting took place. The BJP’s Hasirani Rath defeated Congress candidate Milan Pradhan by 122,753 votes in Nandigram, a seat Adhikari had held since 2016.
In Tamil Nadu, chief minister Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won the two seats that were contested, while NDA partner All India NR Congress (AINRC) retained the one Puducherry seat where by-elections were held. Earlier reporting noted: Chennai: The ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has won both assembly seats that went to by-elections in Tamil Nadu – Madurantakam and Dharapuram – strengthening Chief Minister Vijay’s position while dealing a fresh blow to the AIADMK. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept both seats that went to bypolls in West Bengal, as well as the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in Assam. Former chief minister MK Stalin, whose DMK finished second in both contests, hit out at Vijay. BJP’s Devasish Sharma defeated All India United Democratic Front ( AIUDF ) candidate Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal, while the Congress finished third. “This result reflects Adarniya Modi ji’s popularity across communities and the continued trust the people of Assam place in his vision of a Viksit Bharat . However, the victories provide the ruling party with a boost as it seeks to expand its strength in the Assembly. The government would remain a minority government, but with reduced dependence on its allies – Congress, which has five MLAs, and the Left parties, which support it from outside and have four MLAs together. This possibility assumes added significance amid growing discomfort within Congress over the chorus projecting Vijay as a potential Prime Ministerial candidate, which could complicate the ruling party’s relationship with its key ally.
The constituency covers assembly segments in Morigaon and Nagaon districts, both of which had Muslim-majority populations according to the 2011 Census. In Puducherry, the ruling AINRC won the Thattanchavady constituency, where the bypoll was necessitated after chief minister N Rangasamy resigned from the seat following his victory from Mangalam in the April 9 assembly elections. The AINRC fielded his close confidante and former legislator Ashok Anand, who defeated Congress candidate E Vinayagam by 8,482 votes. Earlier reporting noted: A clean sweep of those five seats would take TVK to 114, still four short of a majority.
“Everyone voted for the BJP, irrespective of whether they were Hindu or Muslim… They [Muslims] were told that if the BJP came to power, they would be sent back to Bangladesh or put in detention camps. Over the past five months, they realised the falsity of these claims, and we got their votes,” chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said. “We will continue our daily campaign to tear off the mask of Chief Minister Vijay , who used cinematic charisma as capital to deceive the people, come into power, and run a government as a puppet for a few corporate mafias,” he said. I thank the people of Nagaon for this resounding mandate and promise to carry our Vikas journey forward with greater vigour,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Earlier reporting noted: Despite Vijay’s star power and the support of former allies of the DMK now backing his government, the margins were not overwhelming, particularly in Dharapuram.
