BJP loses Ratlam bypoll to Congress but gains in Manipur

While in Telanagana, the ruling TRS retained the Warangal Lok Sabha seat today as Pasunoori Dayakar won by a massive margin of nearly 4.6 lakh votes

Close on the heels of the Bihar victory, the Congress on Tuesday managed to snatch away a Lok Sabha seat from the BJP — the Ratlam-Jhabua constituency — in a bypoll in Madhya Pradesh.  Former Congress minister Kantilal Bhuria’s victory at Ratlam-Jhabua will help the Congress push up its tally to 45.

However, the BJP retained its Dewas Assembly seat in the state.  In Telanagana, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti retained the Warangal Lok Sabha seat as Pasunoori Dayakar won by a massive margin of nearly 460,000 votes, defeating the candidates of the Congress and the BJP-TDP combine. Incidentally, the strength of the BJP was down to 281 in the 543-member House.

The eight bypolls were necessitated either due to seats being vacated or deaths of sitting members. However, the BJP opened its account in the 60-member Manipur Assembly by winning bypolls in Thangmeiband and Thongju, trouncing the Congress. Joykishan Singh and Th Bishwajit Singh, the winners, were earlier with the Trinamool Congress.

TRS workers celebrating after winning the Warangal parliament seat in bypolls, at TRS office in Hyderabad

In Meghalaya, Opposition Hill State Democratic Party retained the Nongstoin Assembly seat defeating the Congress candidate by a margin of over 2,700 votes in the November 21 bypoll. Former Mizoram health minister Lal Thanzara of the Congress won the bypoll to Aizawl North-III Assembly seat with a thumping majority.