The INDIA bloc parties have successfully secured four assembly seats and are leading in six others in the recently held by-elections, as per the ECI trends.
The by-elections were conducted on Wednesday for 13 assembly seats across various states, including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu. The contest involved key parties from the INDIA bloc such as Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
In Punjab, Mohinder Bhagat of the AAP won the Jalandhar West seat by a substantial margin of 37,325 votes, defeating BJP's Sheetal Angural. This seat had fallen vacant following Angural's resignation from AAP and subsequent joining of BJP in March. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated that this victory indicates the people's satisfaction with his government's performance.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK's candidate, Anniyur Siva, is leading significantly in the Vikravandi assembly seat, ahead of PMK's Anbumani C by 58,785 votes. This strong lead reflects the continuing support for the ruling DMK in the state.
The TMC made a strong showing in West Bengal, winning multiple seats. Krishna Kalyani defeated BJP's Manas Kumar Ghosh in Raiganj by 50,077 votes, Mukut Nami Adhikari won in Ranaghat Dakshin by 74,485 votes, and Madhuparna Thakur triumphed in Bagda by 74,251 votes. Additionally, in Maniktala, TMC's Supti Pandey is leading over BJP's Kalyan Choubey by 47,827 votes.
Himachal Pradesh saw Congress gaining ground, with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife, Kamlesh Thakur, winning the Dehra assembly seat by 9,399 votes. In Nalagarh, Congress' Hardeep Singh Bawa secured victory over BJP's KL Thakur by 25,618 votes.
The BJP won the Hamirpur seat with candidate Ashish Sharma polling 27,041 votes, defeating Congress' Pushpinder Verma who received 25,470 votes. This seat was one of the few wins for the BJP in these bypolls.
In Uttarakhand, Congress candidates are leading in both contested seats. Lakhpat Singh Butola is ahead in Badrinath, trailing BJP's Rajendra Bhandari by 5,224 votes, while Qazi Nizamuddin is leading in Manglaur, where BJP's Kartar Singh Bhadana is in second place and BSP's Ubaidur Rahman is third.
In Madhya Pradesh's Amarwar seat, BJP's Kamslesh Pratap Shahi is leading by 3,252 votes against Congress' Dheeran Shah Invati. This lead is critical for the BJP as it tries to maintain its foothold in the state.
In Bihar's Rupauli constituency, an Independent candidate, Shankar Singh, is leading by 8,204 votes against JD(U)'s Kaladhar Prasad Mandal. This unexpected lead by an Independent reflects the dynamic political landscape in the state.
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