BJP, Congress, BJD retain sitting seats in bypolls

BJP, Congress and BJD on Friday retained their sitting seats in bypolls in three states with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami registering a thumping victory by bagging 92 per cent of votes polled, months after he was electorally thrashed in his home constituency.

Dhami won from Champawat constituency by 55,025 votes, leaving just 4,413 to his opponents, while Congress' Uma Thomas won from Kerala's Thrikkakara, in a huge setback for ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government. Ruling BJD candidate Alaka Mohanty trounced her rivals in Congress and BJP in Odisha's Brajrajnagar seat by a huge margin.

Also Read: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami wins crucial Champawat bypoll by a margin of 55,025 votes

All the winning candidates polled more than 50 per cent of the votes.

The Uttarakhand Chief Minister's victory was a foregone conclusion but the massive margin he got surpassed even his party's expectations. Dhami has rewritten the record of Vijay Bahuguna, who contested a bypoll after he was chosen as Chief Minister and won from Sitarganj on a Congress ticket in 2012 by 40,000 votes.

While Dhami, who was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the state, bagged a whopping 92.94 per cent or 58,258 of the 62,683 votes polled, Nirmala got just 3,233 and lost her deposit. "It is a national record. Our chief minister has garnered 93 per cent of the votes cast," PTI quoted Uttarakhand BJP spokesperson Shadab Shams as saying.

Samajwadi Party's Manoj Bhatt got 409 and independent candidate Himanshu Garkoti 399 while NOTA polled 372.

Dhami was chosen as Chief Minister this time despite he lost from Khatima in the Uttarakhand assembly polls held in February. As per the Constitutional requirement, Dhami had to become a member of the State Assembly within six months of being sworn in as the Chief Minister.

Immediately after the results were announced, Modi said, "Congratulations to Uttarakhand's dynamic CM Pushkar Singh Dhami for the record win from Champawat. I am confident he will work even harder for the progress of Uttarakhand. I thank the people of Champawat for placing their faith in BJP and laud our Karyakartas for their hard work," Modi said.

"This victory is a command for me to dedicate myself fully to the service of the people of the state. I also express my gratitude to our prime minister whose constant guidance has made me worthy of the people's love and blessings," Dhami said in a statement.

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While the LDF did not leave any stone unturned in Kerala's Thrikkakara, Congress managed to retain its sitting seat. The seat became vacant after PT Thomas passed away recently and the Congress fielded his wife Uma, a former NSU(I) activist, who trounced CPI(M)'s Dr Jo Joseph by a margin of 25,056 after garnering 53 per cent votes.

The CPI(M) had camped its senior ministers and leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for the campaign but its high decibel campaign centred on K-Rail project, which was pitted as a battle between pro-development section and anti-development section.

BJD's Alaka Mohanty defeated her Congress rival Kishore Chandra Patel by 65,999 votes while BJP's Radha Rani Patel came third. The bypoll was necessitated as MLA Kishore Mohanty, the husband of the BJD candidate, died in December last year.

Champawat -- Uttarakhand

Pushkar Singh Dhami (BJP) -- 58,258 (92.94 per cent)

Nirmala Gahtori (Congress) -- 3,233 (5.16 per cent)

MARGIN -- 55025

Thrikkakara -- Kerala

Uma Thomas (Congress) -- 72,770 (53.6 per cent)

Dr Jo Joseph (CPI-M) -- 47,754 (35.28 per cent

AN Radhakrishnan (BJP) -- 12,957 (9.57 per cent)

MARGIN -- 25,016

Brajarajnagar -- Odisha

Alaka Mohanty (BJD) -- 93,790 (61.26 per cent)

Kishore Chandra Patel (Congress) -- 27,791 (18.15 per cent)

Radharani Panda (BJP) -- 22,560 (14.74 per cent)

MARGIN--65,999