Counting of votes in the bypolls to 10 Assembly constituencies and four Lok Sabha seats came to an end on May 31 evening. In a blow to the BJP, the party lost the Kairana Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh and was trailing in the Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra. It, however, retained the Palghar parliamentary seat. The NDPP, its ally, won the lone parliamentary seat of Nagaland with a humongous margin of over 1 lakh votes.
The RJD has tasted victory in a bypoll for the third consecutive time by winning the Jokihat seat in Bihar. A jubilant Tejaswi Yadav, son of Lalu Prasad and Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, said "laluism" has defeated opportunism, referring to JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar.
The Congress has retained the Ampati Assembly seat in Meghalaya. The ruling parties of Punjab, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Kerala — the Congress, the BJP, the TMC and the CPI(M) — have won the bypolls conducted in their respective States. The JMM has also retained its two seats.
The Opposition-backed candidates are leading in Uttar Pradesh.
In Bengaluru's R.R. Nagar constituency election, Congress candidate Muniratna has won, taking the party's tally to 79 in the Legislative Assembly.
Here are the live updates:
RLD wins Kairana LS bypoll by huge margin
In a jolt to the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Tabassum Hasan of the RLD won the Kairana Lok Sabha seat by a huge margin over her BJP rival.
Ms. Hasan polled 4,81,182 votes, while Mriganka Singh of the BJP got 4,36,564 votes, a difference of 44,618 votes, the election office said.
In the process, Ms. Hasan (48) has become the first Muslim face from Uttar Pradesh in the 16th Lok Sabha.
The Kairana seat had fallen vacant following the death of Mriganka’s father and BJP MP Hukum Singh.
Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Tabassum Hasan was supported by the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party as the joint opposition candidate to take on the BJP.
BJP now holds on to a wafer-thin majority in Lok Sabha
The BJP, which retained one out of the three seats in the Lok Sabha bypolls, has a wafer-thin majority now with its effective strength standing at 272 in the 539-member House excluding the Speaker.
The Lok Sabha has 543 elected members but its four seats are unrepresented . While three MPs from Karnataka resigned, the Anantnag seat in Kashmir is lying vacant after the bypoll was deferred indefinitely in May 2017. It brings the majority mark down to 270.
Parliamentary constituency: Kairana (Uttar Pradesh)
Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Kairana | Tabassum Hasan (RLD) |
3:30 p.m.: "The BJP's defeat in its own laboratory is the defeat of their divisive politics," says Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. "This is the victory of the people who believe in peace and unity and the beginning of the end of the arrogance of power," he adds.
1:00 p.m.: At the end of 14th round of counting, the RLD candidate has polled 3,60,821 votes, 43,631 votes more than BJP's Mriganka Singh.
12:10 p.m.: After 13th round of counting RLD's Tabassum Hasan is leading by over 41,000 votes in Kairana. Her rival candidate from BJP, Mriganka Singh, is lagging behind after initial leads.
11:15 a.m.: At the end of round six, the BJP is leading in Kairana with over 13,000 votes.
9:36 a.m.: After first round BJP stands at 17,724 and RLD at 20,818.
The Kairana bypoll saw a joint Opposition taking on the ruling BJP. The constituency fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh, whose daughter Mriganka Singh is now the party’s candidate for the bypoll. She is fighting Rashtriya Lok Dal’s (RLD) Tabassum Hasan, who is supported by the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
The SP-BSP alliance won the recently concluded bypolls of Phulpur and Gorakhpur parliamentary seats.
Parliamentary constituency: Palghar (Maharashtra)
Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Palghar | Rajendra Gavit (BJP) |
4:40 p.m.: Heeding to Shiv Sena's request, recounting of votes were done for five rounds. There was no change in the result. It is official now. Palghar has elected the BJP candidate to represent the constituency in Lok Sabha.
4:00 p.m.: Alleging discrepancies in the counting, Shiv Sena candidate Srinivas Vanga has demanded recounting of votes in the Palghar byelection.
Devendra Fadnavis with BJP candidate Rajendra Gavit at a rally at Kasa,Palghar, on Sunday. Special Arrangement Special Arrangement
3:00 p.m.:BJP has retained Palghar. The party's Rajendra Gavit has defeated his nearest rival Srinivas Vanaga of Shiv Sena by 29,572 votes.
2:20 p.m.: BJP is set to win Palghar as its candidate leads by around 28,000 votes after round 28
1:30 pm: BJP candidate Rajendra Gavit says: "I quit Congress and join the BJP not for power but for development, and now that election trends show me as a winner, I assure that I will fulfill each and every promise made to the people."
12:25 p.m.: Rajendra Gavit is leading by 22,015 votes after 17 rounds.
12:20 p.m: At the end of 14th round, the BJP leads by 19,056 votes over its nearest rival Shiv Sena.
12:10 p.m.: In Palghar, Rajendra Gavit is leading by 19742 votes at the end of 12th round.
11:20 a.m.: BJP's lead comes down to 17,411 after Round 10 as Shiv Sena takes lead in last two rounds.
11:05 a.m.: After Round 8, BJP leads in Palghar by 18,408 votes over Shiv Sena's Shrinivas Wanga.
11:00 a.m.: BJP candidate Rajendra Gavit leads by 17,417 votes over Shiv Sena's Shrinivas Wanga after Round 7.
The Palghar bypoll was necessitated following the death of Chintaman Wanga, the sitting BJP MP. It is a five-corner contest in Palghar. While Shrinivas Wanga, the son of late MP Chintaman Wanaga is contesting as Shiv Sena candidate, the BJP named former Congress MLA and minister Rajendra Gavit as their candidate.
The NCP, Congress and CPI(M) are also contesting the bypolls.
Parliamentary constituency: Bhandara-Gondiya (Maharashtra)
| Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Bhandara-Gondiya | Madhukar Kukade (NCP) |
7:30 p.m.: Finals results are in: NCP wins with 4,42,213 votes, BJP comes second with 3,94,116 votes.
6:45 p.m.: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accepts defeat in Bhandara Gondia. Congratulating the NCP candidate, he says the BJP was defeated as election took place during drought. The Election Commission should take note of EVM snags as it affects the BJP also, he adds.
6:20 p.m.: After 30 rounds, NCP is leading by 47,897 votes. NCP: 4,34,389 , BJP: 3,86,492
2:00 p.m.: As per the latest tally, the NCP leading by 20,583 votes.
1:15 pm: The NCP is leading but the margin has been reduced a little over 16,500 votes.
12:50 pm.: At the end of third round of counting, NCP candidate Madhukar Kukde is leading with 51,279 votes while the BJP’s Hemant Patle is at second place with 48,382 votes.
11:15 a.m.: NCP leads by over 12,000 votes in Bhandara-Gondiya
In Bhandara-Gondiya, sitting BJP MP Nana Patole quit the post claiming the party wasn't doing anything for farmers. Mr. Patole subsequently joined Congress. However, Congress hasn't fielded a candidate in the bypoll.
It's a direct contest between BJP's Hemant Patle and NCP’s Madhukar Kukde in this constituency.
Parliamentary constituency: Nagaland
Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Nagaland | Tokheho Yepthomi (NDPP) |
6:15 p.m: BJP ally NDPP has won the lone Nagaland Lok Sabha seat. The regional party's Tokheho Yepthomi has defeated NPF’s C. Apok Jamir by 1,73,746 votes; NPF had won the seat in 2014 as an ally of the BJP.
2:30 p.m.: NDPP's Tokheho Yepthomi's victory almost certain with lead over NPF's C. Apok Jamir crossing 100,000. The NPF candidate is the son of former Nagaland CM and former Odisha Governor SC Jamir.
2:05 p.m: Tokheho Yepthomi has established a humongous lead of over one lakh votes. The NDPP has polled 4,48,734 votes while the NPF got 3,37,618 votes so far.
1:50 p.m.: The NDPP is leading by 87,466 votes. The NPF has polled 3,15,219 votes so far.
11:40 a.m.: The NDPP has polled 1,42,379 votes, over 2000 votes more than rival NPF
9.50 a.m.: Trends show NDPP with 23,364 votes, NPF with 20,849 votes and 63 under NOTA.
Elections were necessitated in the lone Lok Sabha seat of Nagaland after Neiphiu Rio gave up his parliamentary post to become the state Chief Minister.
It is a two-way contest in Nagaland between Mr. Rio's NDPP and the opposition NPF. The NDPP is part of the NDA.
Assembly constituency: Noorpur (Uttar Pradesh)
Constituency | Leading candidate and party |
Noorpur | Naeem Ul Hasan (SP) |
12:10 p.m.: The Samajwadi Party has established a clear lead of over 10,000 votes in Noorpur Assembly.
10.05 a.m.: After Round 3, BJP gets 8,984 votes, SP gets 12,816.
Noorpur seat fell vacant following the death of BJP member Lokendra Singh. Singh had defeated Niam Ul Hasan by around 12,500 votes in the Assembly elections. Mr. Hasan is hoping to reverse the trend now, while the BJP is fighting to retain its seat.
Assembly constituency: Maheshtala (West Bengal)
Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Mahestala | Dulal Chandra Das (TMC) |
11:20 a.m.: The ruling Trinamool Congress is all set for record victory at the Maheshtala Assembly by-poll with the party nominee Dulal Das leading by more than 28,000 votes at the completion of the ninth round of counting.
9.55 a.m.: After seventh round, Trinamool Congress gets 35614, CPIM 12098, BJP 14436, Lead 21178 and NOTA 882.
The Maheshtala Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of TMC's Kasturi Das in February. While it appears that the constituency will re-elect the TMC, the fight for the second position looks interesting. The principal opposition party CPI(M) is in a neck-and-neck race with the BJP.
Assembly constituency: Tharali (Uttarakhand)
Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Tharali | Munni Devi Shah (BJP) |
02: 05 p.m.: BJP's Munni Devi Shah defeats her Congress rival Jeetram by over 1,900 votes.
12:25 p.m.: After Round 10, the BJP's lead comes down to 815 votes against the Congress.
12:10 p.m.: At the end of ninth round of counting, BJP is leading by 1092 votes in Tharali.
11:40 a.m.: The BJP is leading with over 2000 votes in Tharali.
10.21 a.m.: After round four, BJP gets 7,995, INC gets 6184, CPI(M) gets 428, UKD gets 505, Independent gets 192 and NOTA gets 281.
9.58 a.m.: After round 3, BJP gets 5,700, INC gets 4,503, CPI (M) gets 350, UKD gets 333, Independent gets 129, NOTA gets 196 votes.
9.50 a.m.: After round two, BJP gets 3,417 votes. INC gets 2,897 votes, CPI (M) gets 107, UKD gets 189, Independent gets 85, NOTA 114.
Tharali is again a two-way contest between the arch-rivals Congress and the BJP.
Assembly constituency: Ampati (Meghalaya)
Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Ampati | Miani D. Shira (Cong.) |
11:55 a.m.: Here is the final tally. Congress: 14259, NPP: 11068, Independent: 360, NOTA: 208. With this win, Congress has emerged as the largest party in Meghalaya. Ms. Shira's win has taken Congress tally to 21 — one seat more than ruling NPP.
11:30 a.m.: The first result is out. Miani D. Shira, the daughter of former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has won the seat vacated by her father. Her winning margin is over 3000 votes.
10.22 a.m.: After round four, NPP gets 9,321 votes, INC gets 11,677 votes, IND gets 302, NOTA 180.
9.56 a.m.: After third round, INC gets 2,808, NPP gets 1,892, Ind 47, Total: INC gets 8,090, NPP gets 6,746 votes.
9:17 a.m.: Ampati bypoll result will decide single largest party in Meghalaya. Both the Congress and the National People's Party (NPP) are tied at 20 in the 60-member Assembly.
Postal ballot papers counted: INC=16 and NPP=7 First round : INC = 2,624, NPP=2,142
Former chief minister Mukul Sangma vacated Ampati seat after winning from two seats. A win in this constituency is crucial because the difference between the number of seats the ruling coalition head by NPP, and opposition Congress is just 6 seats.
Interestingly Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is still an MP. Another election is imminent in the State.
Assembly constituency: Jokihat (Bihar)
Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Jokihat | Shahnawaz Alam (RJD) |
RJD's Shahnawaz Alam has won Jokihat Assembly bypoll.
1:30 p.m.: Leader of Opposition Tejaswi Yadav says, “the people of Jokihat rejected Nitish Kumar”.
“The chief minister himself and over half of his cabinet ministers and close aides were involved in campaign for the JD(U) candidate in Jokihat but ultimately Laluism defeated opportunism there”, said Mr. Yadav.
“Its just a trailer as the full picture remains to be seen”, Mr Yadav added further.
1:15 am: At the end of final round of counting, Shahnawaz Alam extended the lead margin to 41,225. The RJD has won Jokihat. This is the third bypoll win for RJD.
12:40 p.m.: RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam is set to win Jokihat assembly bypoll with over 40,000 votes more than the JD(U) candidate Murshid Alam. The RJD candidate has got 79, 542 votes while, the JD(U) candidate has got 40, 016 votes.
11:30 a.m.: The RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam has now got a comfortable margin of over 28,000 votes over his rival candidate of JD(U) , Murshid Alam in Jokihat Assembly bypoll.
10.24 a.m.: Taking lead over JD(U) candidate by over 3,000 votes after 8th round in Jokihat by-poll, RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam told local journalists that his victory is confirmed with a big margin and the lead will increase in next rounds.
9:17 a.m.: In first round of counting JD(U) candidate Murshid Alam takes lead over rival RJD candidate Sahanawaj Alam by around 2,000 votes.
Assembly constituency: Shahkot (Punjab)
Constituency | Winning candidate and party |
Shahkot | Hardev Singh Ladi (Cong.) |
2:00 p.m.: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh says, "People of Shahkot have given a massive thumbs up to the development policies ruling Congress government in Punjab.
"Akali Dal never worked for Shahkot even though the people gave them many opportunities. Aam Aadmi Party decimation will be complete with this humiliating defeat.
"This victory has given us a 2/3rd majority in the Vidhan Sabha."
1:45 p.m.: Congress has won Shahkot. Here is the final tally — Congress: 82,747, SAD: 43,945, AAP: 1901. This takes Mr. Ladi winning margin to a massive 38,802 votes.
12:45 p.m.: “The people of Punjab, especially voters of Shahkot, have once again put their stamp of approval on the policies of the Punjab government under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh. They have also shown the Akali Dal their place,” Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar tells reporters in Jalandhar.
12:10 p.m.: At the end of 11th round of counting, Congress is leading with 27,049 votes in Shahkot.
10:45 a.m.: Congress candidate Hardev Singh Laddi was leading by more than 10,000 votes over his nearest rival, Shiromani Akali Dal nominee Naib Singh Kohar, after five rounds of counting for the Shahkot assembly constituency bypoll, officials said. ( PTI )
9.57 a.m.: INC gets 19,007 votes, SAD gets 10,449, AAP gets 556, NOTA gets 232.
9:20 a.m.: After counting began at the office of Director Land Records in Jalandhar, Congress candidate Hardev Singh Laddi is leading by 3,351 votes against his nearest rival Naib Singh Kohar of Shiromani Akali Dal in the Shahkot constituency after completion of two rounds of counting of votes. The counting would be held in 17 rounds, an official said adding that the result was expected to be declared by afternoon.
The Shahkot bypoll was necessitated by the death of Akali MLA Ajit Singh Kohar, Naib Singh Kohar’s father, in February this year. Shahkot has been an SAD bastion. It has elected SAD representatives for the past 20 years.
Assembly constituency: Chengannur (Kerala)
Constituency | Winning Candidate and party |
Chengannur | Saji Cherian (CPI-M) |
Saji Cherian
10:40 am: Ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) looks set to trounce both the Congress and BJP by a huge margin in the Chengannur Assembly byelection.
As the counting crossed the half way mark, LDF's Saji Cherian (CPI-M) has secured a lead of more than 7000 votes, over 1500 votes more than its victory margin in the 2016 Assembly byelection.
9:00 a.m.: Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate Saji Cherian (CPI-M) begins with nearly 1,600 votes lead in Chengannur Assembly bye-election as counting of votes begin. LDF won the seat in the 2016 Assembly elections.
BJP fares badly as LDF races ahead with impressive performance in UDF strongholds as early counting trends from Chengannur Assembly constituency come in.
Chengannur is traditionally a UDF stronghold. While the Left and the BJP are separately trying to make in-roads in this constituency, the former has succeeded.
Assembly constituency: R.R. Nagar (Karnataka)
Constituency | Winning Candidate and party |
R.R. Nagar | N. Muniratna (Congress) |
Congress candidate Muniratna
2:00 p.m.: N. Muniratna of Congress has won R.R. Nagar, taking the party's tally at the Vidan Sabha to 79.
12:00 noon: Congress’ N Muniratna has established an unassailable lead of over 44,000 votes over his nearest BJP rival Tulsi Muniraju Gowda.
11:50 am : At the end of 11th round, Congress leads with 84,908 votes, followed by the BJP with 38,357 votes and the JD(S) with 29519.
It is not a bypoll in R.R. Nagar. The constituency went to polls on May 28 as the Election Commission postponed the election after at least 9,564 EPICs (Electors Photo Identity Cards) were seized from an apartment at Jalahalli.
While the result is not expected to affect the coalition government in Karnataka — both Congress and JD(S) are contesting the election after talks fell through — a loss for either the JD(S) or the Congress could give the BJP a fillip in its political attack against the “unholy alliance”.
Assembly constituency: Palus Kadegaon (Maharashtra)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on May 14, withdrew its candidate for the Palus-Kadegaon Assembly seat in Sangli district, paving the way for Youth Congress president Dr. Vishwajeet Kadam to be elected unopposed.
Assembly constituency: Gomia, Silli (Jharkhand)
Constituency | Winning Candidate and party |
Gomia | Babita Devi (JMM) |
Silli | Seema Mahto (JMM) |
2:30 pm: In Gomia, JMM’s candidate Babita Devi defeated AJSU nominee Lambodar Mahto by 13,00 votes while BJP’s nominee Madhavlal Singh stood third on the seat.
In Silli, JMM’s Seema Mahto defeated AJSU chief and former state Deputy Chief Minister Sudesh Mahto by 13,000 votes.
02:15 p.m.: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Thursday retained both Silli and Gomia Assembly seats in the bye-election, State Chief Electoral Officer L. Khiangte said.
12:20 p.m: BJP candidate Madavlal Singh is leading by over 6,000 votes after six rounds of counting over AJSU candidate Lambodar Mahto in Gomia assembly seat.
In Silli, AJSU president Sudesh Mahto is leading over 1,000 votes against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate Seema Devi. JMM candidate was leading till fifth round.
10:45 a.m.: BJP candidate Madhavlal Singh is leading over his nearest JMM rival Babita Devi by 2600 votes in Gomia Assembly seat after fifth round of counting, EC sources said.
10:40 a.m.: JMM candidate Seema Mahto is leading over his AJSU president Sudesh Mahto by 3,900 votes in Silli Assembly seat after fifth round of counting.
The bypoll in both Gomia and Silli Assembly seats were necessitated following conviction of Yogendra Mahto (Gomia) and Amit Mahto (Silli) who won on JMM tickets in the last Assembly elections.
Re-poll conducted on May 30
Repolling at 123 stations was held on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana, Maharashtra’s Bhandara-Gondia and the Nagaland Parliamentary constituency, on the Election Commission of India’s (ECI's) directions.
While fresh polls at the 73 stations in Kairana and 49 in Bhandara-Gondia were ordered after a large number of VVPATs and some EVMs developed glitches during the bypolls on Monday, it was also conducted at one booth in Nagaland where a mob had damaged the EVM.
Bye-elections marred by VVPAT glitches
Polling in the bye-elections were marred by reports of malfunctioning of EVMs in many booths, especially in Kairana and Bhandra-Gondiya.
The EC responded to the reports saying that the claims of large-scale malfunctioning were an “exaggerated projection of reality”. But the Chief Election Officer, Uttar Pradesh, also admitted in a statement that the Commission received complaints of malfunctioning of VVPAT machines from 384 polling stations in Kairana following which replacement machines were used. This caused delays in polling in more than a few places.
(With inputs from Agencies)
