Cong has no moral right to stay in power: Rajasthan BJP

The Rajasthan unit of the BJP today said that the Congress had no moral right to remain in power in the state as the mandate in three bypoll...

The Rajasthan unit of the BJP today said that the Congress had no moral right to remain in power in the state as the mandate in three bypolls was against it and demanded its ouster.

In a statement here, party spokesman and MLA Manik Chand Surana alleged that despite misusing the official machinery in the poll canvassing, the Congress had been defeated by the public at large.

AGP clinches Khumtai seat

GUWAHATI: Prabin Gogoi of the Asom Gana Parishad defeated Congress nominee Lachit Phukan by margin of 3,061 votes in the Khumtai Assembly segment. Gogoi polled 28,715 votes while Phukan secured 25,654 votes. The seat had fallen vacant due to the death of former Speaker Jiba Kanta Gogoi.

Godda puts its faith in BJP

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RANCHI: BJP candidate and Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Pradeep Yadav won the Godda Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 93,262 votes.

Congress loses Mehsana to BJP

AHMEDABAD: BJP wrested the Mehsana Lok Sabha seat from Congress. Its candidate Punjaji Thakore defeated Maneklal Patel of the Congress, officials said. The by-election was held following the death of Congress leader and former Gujarat minister Atmaram Patel.

Meanwhile, some hope for Cong

DEHRA DUN: Congress has won the Nainital Parliamentary by-election by defeating BJP by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes. Congress candidate Mohinder Pal secured 2,00,181 votes, while his nearest rival Balraj Passi of BJP got 95,955 votes. BSP candidate Subhash Sarkar stood third with 74,846 votes.

ITANAGAR: Yari Dulom of ruling Congress won the Daporijo Assembly seat defeating lone Arunachal Congress rival Daklo Nidak in the bypoll held on December 12 last, election office here said. (ENS & Agencies)

The BJP won all the three Assembly bypolls in the state, wresting two seats and retaining one. The BJP retained the Bali seat, which fell vacant after its leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat became Vice-President, and wrested Sagwara (ST) seat from the Congress and Bansur from the BSP.

In Bali, BJP candidate Pushpendra Singh defeated Bheem Raj Bhat of Congress by a margin of over 13,000 votes. Meetha Lal Jain, a Congress rebel, also in the fray from the same constituency, seemed to have cut into the party’s votes.

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Kanal Mal Katara of the BJP won from Sagwara (ST) constituency, a Congress bastion, defeating Surendra Kumar of the Congress by over 14,000 votes. Kumar is the son of former Congress minister Bhikha Bhia whose death necessitated the bypoll. BJP candidate Rohitashwa Kumar defeated Sardara Ram of the Congress by over 2,000 votes in Bansur.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the Congress’ defeat in the bypolls was the result of the ‘‘communal wave’’ in neighbouring Gujarat. ‘‘It was the Gujarat impact on the by-elections in the state and it is an instant victory of the BJP. Since Sagwara and Bali are located near the Gujarat border, the communal wave did affect the voters’ mind,’’ Gehlot said in a statement here.

In Bansur, it was the caste equation that led to a narrow victory for the BJP, he added.

However, he said that under the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the party would continue its struggle to protect secularism, democracy and socialism.

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Out of the total 200 seats in the Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress now has 152 seats, BJP 34, Independents eight, Janata Dal three and BSP, RJD and CPM have one seat each.