New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- The BJP on Friday hailed its success in the bypolls in Assam and West Bengal, and Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh as a "fitting reply of democracy to mobocracy".
The BJP on Friday swept the West Bengal Assembly bypolls, trouncing its rivals by a record margin in politically significant Nandigram and scoring a surprise victory in Muslim-majority Rejinagar.
In Assam, BJP candidate Devasish Sharma achieved an unassailable lead of 1,76,391 votes over his nearest rival, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal, in the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll. The counting of votes was underway at the time of filing of this report.
While all eight Rajya Sabha candidates of the BJP were declared elected unopposed from UP, the ruling All India NR Congress (AINRC) emerged victorious in the October 6 bypoll to Thattanchavady in Puducherry. The AINRC is an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
All 10 Rajya Sabha candidates from UP -- eight from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and two from the Samajwadi Party (SP) -- were declared elected unopposed on Friday, an official said.
Following the party's victory in the polls, Home Minister Amit Shah took on the Opposition, saying the BJP is winning "one after another election" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership despite the "lies, confusion and malicious propaganda" of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his allies.
"The victories of the NDA in the by-elections of West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry, as well as the recent municipal elections in Rajasthan and Tripura, indicate that the people have completely rejected the INDI Alliance," Shah said in a post on X.
He alleged that the Opposition INDIA Bloc parties, which have lost their mass base, raise questions about the constitutional institutions after every defeat in polls.
"But the people have recognised their character. That is why, once again, they have expressed their unwavering faith in the BJP by giving it a resounding mandate," Shah added.
In an apparent attack on the Opposition parties, Union Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that in a democracy, the "clamour of
commotion" may echo briefly, but the resonance of the people's verdict travels far and wide.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.