Bhopal:

In a blow to the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh, minister Ramniwas Rawat lost to the Congress’ Mukesh Malhotra by a margin of 7,364 votes in the Vijaypur assembly bypoll.

Rawat had won the seat on a Congress ticket in the 2023 assembly polls but then switched over to the BJP, which made him forest minister in the Mohan Yadav government.

Rawat had won from Vijaypur in Sheopur district as a Congress candidate in 1990, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2023.

The BJP lost Vijaypur even after distributing Rs 50 crore to lure voters, MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari alleged.

“Vijaypur’s victory is the victory of Congress workers, who faced all kinds of torture. They endured police cane-charge and lawsuits, still they stood firm,” Patwari said in a post on X.

The entire system, including the collector, SP and other officials, along with BJP-supported goons, dacoits and mafia were against the Congress, he alleged.

“The police and administration did the work of BJP workers. False cases were filed against Congress people, innocent people were sent to jail without any reason. More than 50 crore rupees were distributed to lure voters. Even after that, the lion-like workers have put this victory in the bag of Congress,” Patwari asserted.

This is the victory of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution and party workers, the Congress leader said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The counting of votes for byelections will begin at 8 am. Over the past few weeks, bypolls were held on 48 assembly seats in 14 states – Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Elections were also held on two Lok Sabha seats – Kerala’s Wayanad and Maharashtra’s Nanded.

These elections mark the electoral debut of Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is contesting in Wayanad, earlier held by her brother Rahul Gandhi. The election was necessitated in Wayanad after Rahul Gandhi won both Wayanad and Rae Bareli seats and decided to retain the latter.

Rahul Gandhi has been actively campaigning for his sister Priyanka Gandhi. In one of the election rallies, he said, “If she likes you, she will do whatever; beyond anything you can imagine. She is also going to like Wayanad a lot. You see, a huge part of being a good MP is that you like the people and place you work for. She is going to like it.”

READ | Will Priyanka Gandhi Be A Better MP For Wayanad? Rahul Gandhi Responds

The bypolls results for six assembly seats in West Bengal will be interesting and a test for the ruling Trinamool Congress as protests in the RG Kar rape and murder case continue.

The TMC hopes to maintain the momentum set since 2021, having won nearly all assembly by-polls, except Sagardighi in February 2023.

Here Are Live Updates On Bypoll Results 2024:

Kerala Bypoll Results: Security In Place Ahead Of Counting Of Votes

#WATCH | Kerala: Counting of votes for Palakkad Assembly by-elections to take place today. Visuals from a counting centre as security personnel and polling officials arrive. pic.twitter.com/U2GnZOxPw1

– ANI (@ANI) November 23, 2024

Chhattisgarh Bypoll Results: 30 Candidates Compete For Raipur City South
In Chhattisgarh, 30 candidates are competing for one assembly seat – Raipur City South. The need for a bypoll on one seat arose after sitting BJP legislator and former state minister Brijmohan Agrawal resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha from the Raipur parliamentary constituency.

Bihar Bypoll Results: Four Assembly Seats, 38 Candidates. Who Will Win?
In Bihar, bypolls were held on four assembly seats – Tarari, Imamganj, Belaganj and Ramgarh – with 38 candidates in the queue. All the poll-bound seats fall in the area south of the Ganga, considered a stronghold of the Mahagathbandhan, comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Indian National Congress (INC) and Left parties.

West Bengal Bypoll Results: Will Trinamool Retain Its Stronghold?
Of the six seats in the picture – Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) – five are in the Trinamool strongholds of south Bengal. Madarihat remains a BJP bastion in the northern part of the state.

Rajasthan Bypoll Results: 7 Seats, 69 Candidates
Seven seats, namely Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khinvsar, Chorasi, Salumber and Ramgarh, will seal the fates of 69 candidates — 10 women and 59 men. Apart from the BJP and the Congress, Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and Rajkumar Rathore’s Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) have also fielded candidates as they face the challenge of defending their strongholds.

The Jat-dominated Khinsvar seat will witness a triangular contest with the BJP’s Revant Ram Danga up against the Congress’ Ratan Chaudhary and the RLP’s Kanika Chaudhary, the wife of party chief Hanuman Beniwal. The seat fell vacant after Hanuman Beniwal got elected to Lok Sabha this year. Danga and Beniwal were once close aides but later parted ways.