Ruling parties lose half of eight bypoll seats as Congress, PDP, AAP, JMM gain

NEW DELHI: Ruling parties Friday lost four of the eight seats where Assembly bypolls were held on November 11 with the Congress bagging one seat in BJP-ruled Rajasthan and the PDP handing the National Conference its first ever defeat in its stronghold of Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

- MPOST BUREAU

The BJP won the Nagrota seat in Jammu and Kashmir and Mizorams main Opposition party, Mizo National Front (MNF), retained the Dampa Assembly seat with its candidate R Lalthangliana defeating Vanlalsailova of the ruling Zoram People’s Movement by a margin of 562 votes.

Bypolls were also held in Anta (Rajasthan), Ghatshila (Jharkhand), Jubilee Hills (Telangana), Tarn Taran (Punjab) and Nuapada (Odisha).

‘The Congress and the BJP won one more seat each while the AAP and the JMM also bagged one seat each.

In Odisha’s Nuapada, BJP’s Jay Dholakia beat Ghasi Ram Majhi of the Congress by a huge margin of 83,748 votes. Jay is the son of late BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, whose death necessitated the bypoll.