Assembly bypolls: AAP retains both seats; BJP, Congress, Trinamool bag one each
Assembly bypolls results: Follow LIVE updates on June 23, 2025
The Trinamool Congress retained Kaliganj in West Bengal while Nilambur in Kerala went to the Congress. The BJP managed to retain Kadi in Gujarat.
The bypolls in the five constituencies were held on June 19 and the results announced on Monday.
Also Read | Gujarat Assembly bypolls: AAP wins Visavadar, BJP retains Kadi seat
AAP candidate Gopal Italia, former president of the party in Gujarat, defeated his nearest rival, BJP's Kirit Patel in Visavadar by a margin of 17,554 votes, according to the Election Commission of India (EC). The BJP could not win the seat since 2007 despite its near-total dominance in the State.
However, the party managed to retain Kadi, which is a reserved constituency. BJP's Rajendra Chavda won by a margin of 39,452 votes over Congress' Ramesh Chavda.
The bye-election in Kadi was necessitated due to the death of BJP MLA Karsanbhai Punjabhai Solanki in February; Visavadar went to bypolls as its MLA Bhayani Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai resigned from the AAP and joined the BJP.
Also Read | Nilambur Assembly bypoll: UDF's Aryadan Shoukath ensures resounding win
In Punjab, the ruling AAP retained the Ludhiana West seat. The party's Sanjeev Arora defeated Congress's Bharat Bhushan Ashu by 10,637 votes.
While reacting to the bypoll wins, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he would not become a Rajya Sabha member in the wake of party Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Arora's election as MLA.
When asked who the party will nominate in Mr Arora's place, Mr. Kejriwal said: 'Many times I have been sent to the Rajya Sabha. I want to tell you I am not going to the Rajya Sabha. The political affairs committee of the party will decide whom to nominate.'
Also Read | Assembly bypoll: People rejected both BJP and Congress, says Arvind Kejriwal after AAP's victory
In Kerala, it was a setback for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government as the opposition Congress-led UDF wrested the Nilambur assembly constituency from it by a margin of 11,077 votes. Congress' Aryadan Shoukath, son of late Congress leader Aryadan Muhammed, defeated CPI(M) state secretariat member M. Swaraj.
The Nilambur seat fell vacant after LDF-backed independent and two-time MLA P.V. Anvar resigned. Mr. Anvar had won twice from the seat with LDF support. He had resigned as MLA following differences with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He then fought the bypolls as an independent candidate backed by the Trinamool Congress.
In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress' Alifa Ahamed won Kaliganj by a whopping 50,049 votes, defeating BJP's Ashish Ghosh. Congress' Kabiluddin Shaikh came third with 28,348 votes.
Assembly bypolls: Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil resigns after party loses both seats
The bye-election was necessitated due to the death of Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed.
It was seen as a litmus test for the ruling Trinamool and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee amid myriad controversies, including the loss of jobs of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs in State-run schools.
In a post on X on Monday, Ms. Banerjee said: 'In the by-election of the Kaliganj Assembly constituency, people from all religions, castes, communities, and all walks of life have overwhelmingly blessed us by exercising their voting rights. I humbly express my gratitude to them.'
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