Congress-led opposition bags 4 out 7 seats in India’s State by-polls

New Delhi, September 9 (Hindustan Times): The first election battle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the I.N.D.I.A or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance concluded Friday, with the Opposition securing four seats, while the BJP emerged victorious in the remaining three. A significant contest unfolded in BJP-ruled UP, where the joint candidate from the INDIA bloc, Samajwadi Party's Sudhakar Singh, secured a victory by a margin of over 40,000 votes. Another key battle between NDA and INDIA was witnessed in Jharkhand's Dumri where the Opposition's joint candidate Bebi Devi from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, retained her late husband and sitting MLA Jagarnath Mahto's seat. The Congress is celebrating the victory of Chandy Oommen, the son of late Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy, who retained the Puthuppally assembly constituency in Kerala. The BJP won the by-elections to the Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura. Another win for the BJP has been in Uttarakhand where its candidate Parvati Das won by 2,405 votes, retaining her late husband and sitting MLA Chandan Ram Das' seat. In West Bengal, TMC defeated the BJP on the seat as its candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy won the Dhupguri by-poll by more than 4,000 votes.