The BJP swept to a second consecutive victory in strategically critical Uttar Pradesh elections and dominated the vote in three other states, while the Aam Aadmi Party declared its national presence with a landslide victory in Punjab, redrawing India’s political map and severely reducing the Congress.
The probable four-one score for India’s governing party emphasised its electoral prowess as ballots were tallied on Thursday for elections in five states held in February and March. According to trends and results on the Election Commission website, the BJP was also ahead in Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa.
The poll results, on the other hand, have cast a pall over many political giants, while others have soared through. The top victors and losers in the assembly elections are shown below.
Biggest losers
Charanjit Singh Channi
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was defeated in the elections for both the Bhadaur and Chamkaur Sahib assembly seats. In the Bhadaur seat, Channi was thrashed by AAP newcomer Labh Singh Ugoke. Ugoke was elected with 37,558 votes. Channi was also beaten by AAP’s Charanjit Singh in Chamkaur Sahib, where he was lost by 7,942 votes. Channi took to Twitter to say that he sincerely accepts the mandate of the Punjabi people.
Pushkar Singh Dhami
Pushkar Singh Dhami, the incumbent Uttarakhand Chief Minister, lost by 6,579 votes in Khatima, a seat he had won for the previous two elections.
The defeat of the man who led the party’s campaign against the Congress in the state raises a major question for the saffron party, which may now have to look for a new chief minister because it was counting on Dhami seeking a full five-year term to carry out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of development for Uttarakhand.
Harish Rawat
Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat, who headed the Congress campaign in the Uttarakhand assembly elections, was defeated by the BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht by 17,527 votes in Lalkuwa. Bisht had an early lead against Rawat and kept it all the way to the finish. Rawat’s loss in Lalkuwa is notable since he was originally fielded by the party’s high leadership in the Ramnagar constituency, but was changed to Lalkuwa after objections from party colleague and one-time close buddy Ranjeet Rawat.
Parkash Singh Badal
Gurmeet Singh Khudian of the AAP beat Parkash Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the Lambi Assembly seat in Punjab on Thursday. Khudian of the AAP won by a huge margin of 11,396 votes. Khudian received 66,313 votes in the Assembly constituency of Lambi, while Badal came in second with 54,917 votes.
Top winners
Yogi Adityanath
Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, won the Gorakhpur Urban seat by a huge majority of 54,858 votes. His triumph comes at a time when the BJP appears to be on the verge of retaining power in Uttar Pradesh. According to the Election Commission, Adityanath, who is running for the first time in the Assembly elections, garnered 85,356 votes, while his closest challenger, SP candidate Subhawati Upendra Dutt Shukla, received 30,498.
Parmod Sawant
On Thursday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant won his traditional Sanquelim Assembly district, expressing confidence in the BJP’s ability to establish administration in the coastal state.
Bhagwant Mann
Bhagwant Mann, the AAP’s chief ministerial candidate, won the Dhuri assembly seat. According to election results, Mann, who is also the state unit chairman of the Aam Aadmi Party, defeated Congress contender and current MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy by a margin of 58,206 votes.
Akhilesh Yadav
Despite losing elections, Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the Samajwadi Party (SP), won the Karhal Assembly seat with a margin of 67,504 votes, according to the EC website. Akhilesh Yadav received 1,48,196 votes, while Union minister SP Singh Baghel of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received 80,692. The SP considers Karhal to be a stronghold.