Jalandhar(Pun)/Rampur: The AAP on Saturday emerged victorious in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat bypoll in Punjab while in the assembly by-elections, BJP allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) won in Uttar Pradesh and the UDP in Meghalaya and the BJD bagged a seat in Odisha. The bypolls to the lone Lok Sabha seat, two assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh and one seat each in Odisha and Meghalaya were held on May 10.
In Jalandhar, AAP candidate Sushil Rinku defeated his Congress rival Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary by 58,691 votes. The win gave the ruling party in Punjab and Delhi its only member in Lok Sabha. In the assembly bypolls, the ruling BJP-led coalition in Uttar Pradesh ended Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's over four-decade dominance in Rampur as Apna Dal (S) won the Suar seat.
Shafeek Ahmed Ansari defeated SP's Anuradha Chauhan by a margin of 8,724 votes. Apna Dal (S) got its second success when Rinki Kol defeated SP's Kirti Kol by 9,587 votes to win the Chhanbey (SC) assembly seat. In Odisha, the ruling BJD retained the Jharsuguda assembly seat with its candidate Dipali Das defeating her BJP rival Tankadhar Tripathy by 48,721 votes.
Synshar Kupar Roy Lyngdoh Thabah of the UDP beat Samlin Malngiang of the NPP by 3422 votes to win the Sohiong by-election in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills. The Jalandhar seat fell vacant following the death of Kaur's husband and Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal hailed Rinku's "unprecedented victory", saying it is an outcome of the Bhagwant Mann government's good work in Punjab. "We do politics of work and seek votes from people for our work, and people have put a stamp on Bhagwant Mann government's work saying 'we are with you'... This is a big message," Kejriwal said in Delhi.
Mann, who was with Kejriwal, said the result is a "positive stamp" on the work done by his government in Punjab so far. The AAP has not had a member in the lower house of Parliament since its defeat in the Sangrur bypolls last year. The Sangrur parliamentary seat fell vacant after Mann resigned as an MP after being elected to the Punjab assembly. The AAP currently has 10 members in Rajya Sabha.
Bypoll in the Suar assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh was necessitated following the disqualification of two-term legislator and SP leader Azam Khan's son Abdullah Azam Khan in February after a Moradabad court sentenced him to two years in jail in a 15-year-old case. Ansari said his win is a result of the collective effort and hard work of BJP and Apna Dal (S) workers.
The Rampur assembly constituency as well as the Rampur parliamentary constituency, both Azam Khan's strongholds, were won by the BJP. The Chhanbey seat fell vacant following the death of sitting Apna Dal (S) MLA Rahul Prakash Kol in February.
After her win, Dipali said, "Though I lost my father, I got father-like blessings and support from Naveen Patnaik ji." She is the daughter of Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, whose assassination in January allegedly by a police officer necessitated the by-poll. The by-poll in Meghalaya was necessitated following the death of UDP candidate HDR Lyngdoh ahead of the assembly elections held in the rest of the state on February 27. (PTI)
