DEHRADUN: In a significant upset, Congress has emerged victorious in both the Badrinath and Mangalour assembly seats in the Uttarakhand by-elections, defeating the BJP in a prestige battle. Congress has linked BJP’s defeat in Badrinath to Ayodhya, saying the party should ‘abandon’ its politics of religiosity in the state. With the double victory, Congress’s tally in the 70-member state assembly has increased from 18 to 20.In the Badrinath constituency, BJP candidate Rajendra Bhandari lost to Congress candidate Lakhpat Butola by a significant margin of 5224 votes. Butola secured 28,161 votes while Bhandari trailed with 22,937 votes. Other candidates, Himmat Negi from the Sainik Samaj Party got 494 votes while Independent candidate Naval Khali received 1,813 votes. 823 votes were cast for NOTA.In the Mangalour seat, Congress candidate Qazi Mohammed Nizamuddin won by a narrow margin of 449 votes, defeating BJP candidate Kartar Singh Bhadana who secured 31,305 votes. Nizamuddin emerged victorious with 31,727 votes, while BSP candidate Ubaidur Rehman received 19,559 votes. 237 votes were cast for NOTA. Several Independent candidates in the fray failed to cross the 500-vote mark.Responding to the big win for the party, Congress state president Karan Mahara said, “Even Ram and Narayan (Lord Vishnu) have turned away from the BJP, as the party faced a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in Ayodhya, a sacred Hindu pilgrimage site. Now, the BJP has suffered another defeat in the Badrinath, indicating the party’s declining fortunes.””The Congress’s victory on both seats is not just a defeat for the BJP, but also a blow to their arrogance,” Mahara told TNIE. “The people of the state have proven that they will not tolerate deceitful and opportunistic representatives. The public has shown that they will not accept those who try to fool them,” he added. Addressing the media after the election results, BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt said that the party has accepted the by-election results and promised to “review its performance.” “The party will counter Congress’s propaganda and avenge the defeat in the Kedarnath by-elections,” Bhatt said.
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