<p>By-election results are not pointers to the prevalent political mood except when held in special circumstances, and especially when just four or five polls are held in different parts of the country. The one key message from the five Assembly by-elections held in four states last week came from Kerala. Nilambur, represented by the ruling LDF (Left Democratic Front), was captured by the opposition UDF (United Democratic Front). The constituency has traditionally backed UDF but in the last two elections, went with a Left-backed Independent. It was his revolt against the LDF leadership and resignation which necessitated the by-election. While losing the seat, the LDF also saw a slight decline in its votes. In the battle of perceptions, the ruling front has suffered a setback ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.</p>.AAP's bypoll wins were semifinals for 2027 assembly elections in Punjab, Gujarat: Kejriwal.<p>In all the other by-polls, parties retained their seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the election in Visavadar in Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab. Its MLA in Visavadar had defected to the BJP; winning the seat again shows that the party is in the reckoning in Gujarat. AAP has claimed that it is the main Opposition in the state, not the Congress. In Ludhiana West in Punjab, the by-election was announced following the death of the AAP MLA. With the victory, the party has reasserted its position in the state which it rules. The BJP’s votes in the Assembly segment have halved after the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress’ vote share also declined, and its candidate resigned his position as the state working president, attributing his defeat to factionalism in the party – the official faction of the party stayed away from the poll campaign. The Congress party’s Gujarat state president also resigned after the party’s defeat in Visavadar and Kadi where the BJP recorded a landslide victory.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Trinamool Congress retained its Kaliganj seat in West Bengal with a higher vote share than in the last election, and its main rival, the BJP, recorded a sharp fall in its votes and vote share. However, the TMC’s victory was marred by the death of a nine-year-old girl in a crude bomb explosion. The girl is alleged to have lost her life when TMC workers, taking out a victory procession, threw a bomb at a CPM supporter’s house. The incident is an unfortunate and continuing sign of the violence that has taken hold of West Bengal’s politics.</p>
<p>By-election results are not pointers to the prevalent political mood except when held in special circumstances, and especially when just four or five polls are held in different parts of the country. The one key message from the five Assembly by-elections held in four states last week came from Kerala. Nilambur, represented by the ruling LDF (Left Democratic Front), was captured by the opposition UDF (United Democratic Front). The constituency has traditionally backed UDF but in the last two elections, went with a Left-backed Independent. It was his revolt against the LDF leadership and resignation which necessitated the by-election. While losing the seat, the LDF also saw a slight decline in its votes. In the battle of perceptions, the ruling front has suffered a setback ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.</p>.AAP's bypoll wins were semifinals for 2027 assembly elections in Punjab, Gujarat: Kejriwal.<p>In all the other by-polls, parties retained their seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the election in Visavadar in Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab. Its MLA in Visavadar had defected to the BJP; winning the seat again shows that the party is in the reckoning in Gujarat. AAP has claimed that it is the main Opposition in the state, not the Congress. In Ludhiana West in Punjab, the by-election was announced following the death of the AAP MLA. With the victory, the party has reasserted its position in the state which it rules. The BJP’s votes in the Assembly segment have halved after the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress’ vote share also declined, and its candidate resigned his position as the state working president, attributing his defeat to factionalism in the party – the official faction of the party stayed away from the poll campaign. The Congress party’s Gujarat state president also resigned after the party’s defeat in Visavadar and Kadi where the BJP recorded a landslide victory.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Trinamool Congress retained its Kaliganj seat in West Bengal with a higher vote share than in the last election, and its main rival, the BJP, recorded a sharp fall in its votes and vote share. However, the TMC’s victory was marred by the death of a nine-year-old girl in a crude bomb explosion. The girl is alleged to have lost her life when TMC workers, taking out a victory procession, threw a bomb at a CPM supporter’s house. The incident is an unfortunate and continuing sign of the violence that has taken hold of West Bengal’s politics.</p>
