Bypolls: Congress sweeps Raj, Trinamool Bengal

New Delhi: In Rajasthan, Congress seems to have found its new hero-Sachin Pilot. Under the leadership of Mr Pilot, Congress on Thursday won Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha seats and Mandalgrah Assembly segment which went for bypolls on January 29, though there was a delay in the official announcement.

The Congress candidate, Vivek Dhakad, won the Mandalgarh Assembly seat by defeating BJP's Shakti Singh Hada, by more than 13,000 votes. According to the Election Commission, Mr Dhakad bagged 70,146 votes while Mr Hada 57,170 votes. The Mandalgarh bypoll was necessitated by the demise of BJP MLA Kirti Kumari.

Dr Karan Singh Yadav, Congress candidate from Alwar, was ahead of BJP's Jaswant Singh. In Ajmer, Congress candidate, Raghu Sharma, is ahead of BJP nominee Ramswaroop Lamba.

Trinamool Congress wins both Uluberia Lok Sabha and Naopara Assembly seatsIn West Bengal, ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday won both Ulluberia Lok Sabha and Naopara Assembly seats by a huge margin.Wife of late Trinamool Congress MP Sultan Ahmed Sajda Ahmed won the Uluberia bypoll defeating BJP candidate Anupam Mallick by 4,74,023 votes.

The saffron party emerged as the main contender in both Noapara and Uluberia seats even though there was a quadrangular contest at both the places.Trinamool's Sunil Singh won Noapara Assembly constituency by a margin of 63,018 votes (54% vote share)The Mamata Congress-led party wrested the Noapara seat from the Congress.BJP emerged runner-up in West Bengal relegating the Left Front to third and Congress to the fourth position.
Sachin Pilot demands Vasundhra Raje resignation

Celebrating the victory, Mr Pilot held a press conference demanding resignation of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje. " Ms Raje has no moral right to remain in the office as BJP lost all the three seats in bypolls,' Congress state head said.Mr Pilot said that the voters had voted against the four-year rule of BJP in the state. "The voters of Rajasthan has broken the myth that BJP is 'election-winning machine',' Mr Pilot asserted.He said that the bypolls result shows that the public was unhappy by demonetisation of high-value currency notes and implementation of 'poorly' framed Goods and Services Tax by the Narendra Modi-led Centre.

He said that this result would have an impact on the verdict of Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh assembly polls later this year. Mr Pilot also expressed his gratitude to Congress President Rahul Gandhi. 'Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Congress has emerged as a new party,' he said.Mr Gandhi tweeted 'Well done Rajasthan Congress! Proud of each and every one of you. This is a rejection of the BJP by the people of Rajasthan.'Trinamool Congresss candidate from Noapara told reporters, “It is a great win and it shows people’s faith on the party. I will now work for the people. There was speculation that former AITC stalwart and now a BJP leader Mukul Roy would be a factor in Noapara seat but he could not make a difference in reality.”(UNI)