NEW DELHI: The results of the bypoll battle are out. While it is a mixed bag for both the BJP and the Congress, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has once again emerged as a clear winner.
The BJP, as expected, continues to dominate in several states, especially the northeast. But the party will be hugely disappointed with the results in Himachal Pradesh, where it has been completely decimated in this round of bypolls.
For the Congress, which has faced several electoral setbacks in the last 7 years, the bypoll results have come as a pleasant surprise. The party has won convincingly in Himachal Pradesh winning all the three assembly seats and the lone Lok Sabha seat where bypolls were held.
However, the party’s continued decimation in the northeast should be a cause for concern.
And while the BJP and the Congress can debate their gains and losses, for Mamata Banerjee the bypoll results are another round of vindication of her aggression against the BJP.

Here are the key takeaways from the bypolls for the different parties.
BJP: Wakeup call in Himachal, trounced in West Bengal
The BJP has got a wakeup call in Himachal Pradesh that goes to polls next year, even as it once again stamped its authority in the northeast, especially Assam.
In Himachal Pradesh, the party has lost all the three assembly seats and the lone Lok Sabha seat where bypolls were held on October 30.
However, in Assam, the BJP and its ally the United People’s Party (Liberal) have registered convincing victories in all the five assembly seats.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has been one of the key architects of BJP’s success in the state, called this ‘not an ordinary win’ citing the impressive victory margins.

In West Bengal, the BJP has once again been trounced by Mamata’s Trinamool Congress. The party lost the two seats it had won in the assembly elections by huge margins.
The BJP will also have to do some serious thinking in Rajasthan, where it not just lost the two byelections to the ruling Congress but could not even emerge as the runners-up in both the seats.
In Karnataka, the BJP’s loss in Hangal to the Congress will come as an embarrassment to chief minister Basavaraj Bommai as the seat falls in his home district of Haveri. The electoral battle in Hangal was one of prestige for Bommai who had replaced Yediyurappa as the chief minister and had campaigned extensively. While the bypoll result will have no bearing on the party or the BJP government, it will surely raise questions on leadership of Bommai.
In Haryana, the BJP lost to Abhay Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in the latter’s family stronghold of Ellena assembly seat. However, the BJP will take a lot of comfort from the fact that it could put up a strong fight despite the strong anti-farm laws protest against the party leaders in the state.
While Chautala polled a total of 65,992 votes, the BJP candidate secured 59,253 votes and the Congress could manage only 20,904 votes.
The BJP lost the Dadra and Nagar Haveli parliamentary seat to its friend-turned-rival the Shiv Sena.
In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP once again emerged as the runner-up indicating that it is ready to occupy the opposition space in the state replacing the Congress. The TDP did not contest the bypoll.
Congress: Hope in Himachal, routed in Assam
For the Congress, the biggest gain in this round of bypolls is the party’s complete sweep in Himachal Pradesh where it won three assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat.
The party’s impressive performance in the state will boost the morale of the Congress workers and the leadership ahead of the assembly elections due next year.

In Rajasthan, the Congress’s convincing victory in both the assembly seats that went to polls will consolidate the position of chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who faces leadership challenges from party leader Sachin Pilot. The bypoll victory will make it more difficult for the Congress leadership to force Gehlot to accommodate the Pilot faction in the party and government.
In Karnataka, the Congress managed to wrest the Hanagal seat from the ruling BJP. The Congress victory is significant as the seat fell in the home district of chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.
However, the party has much to ponder over its performance in Assam , where it lost on all the five seats. In fact, in two seats, it could not even emerge as the runner up and ceded that space to independent candidates.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress was dealt a further blow as it lost two seats to the ruling BJP. The BJP, after unseating the Kamal Nath-led Congress government with the help of Jyotiraditya Scindia, has not allowed the Congress to stage a comeback in the state.
The Congress will also need to ponder about its position in Haryana where its candidate lost the security deposit in the Ellenabad assembly constituency. The party has failed miserably to capitalise on the strong anti-farmer protests against the BJP and its leaders and was relegated to the third position in the bypolls.
Trinamool Congress: Mamata Banerjee’s victory march continues
Mamata Banerjee has once again decimated the BJP in West Bengal. Her party, the Trinamool Congress has not just won all the four assembly seats where bypolls were held, but has managed convincing victories in all the seats. In fact, the party has won with record margins of 1.6 lakh votes and 1.43 lakh of votes in two of the seats. The victory margin of Trinamool Congress candidates tells the story of Mamata’s complete domination in state politics.

The bypoll victories will give strength to the West Bengal chief minister who is keen to displace the Congress as the principal challenger to the ruling BJP at the national level.
Mamata is already making strong forays in Tripura and Goa to give wings to her national ambitions.
Rashtriya Janata Dal: Failed solo show in bypolls
The RJD, whose supremo Lalu Prasad had heaped scorn on the Congress as an ally and had decided to go solo in the bypolls, will have a lot to ponder as the party failed to win any of the two assembly seats.
The ruling JD(U) managed to retain both the Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats in what was supposed to be a keen contest as Lalu Prasad returned to the political arena post his release from the jail.
The numbers show that an alliance may have helped the RJD in at least one of the two seats.
In Tarapur, the RJD lost to the JD(U) by 3852 votes, while the Congress candidate Rajesh Kumar Mishra polled 3590 votes. Clearly, an alliance with the Congress may have helped the RJD in this seat.
With his sons, Tejashwai and Tej Pratap, engaged in an embarrassing power struggle, Lalu will have to rethink his party’s alliance priorities.
While the party has extended an open invitation to Chirag Paswan faction of the Lok Janshakti Party, it has sent mixed signals to the Congress.
Some in the state Congress feel that the induction of Kanhaiya Kumar by the party has not gone down well with the RJD.

(With inputs from the agencies)