BHOPAL: Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday proved his clout in Madhya Pradesh politics and strengthened his credentials within the BJP, as the party attained majority on its own in the 230-member Assembly winning or leading in the 19 out of the 28 seats in by-elections.
The opposition Congress was ahead in only nine seats. The BSP drew a blank, despite leading on two seats during the day. The BJP had 107 seats with support of seven MLAs in the Assembly.
With today’s results, the party is assured of going past the simple majority figure of 116, shattering all hopes of the Kamal Nath-led Congress returning to power in the state.
Of the 16 seats belonging to the Scindia-dominated Gwalior-Chambal region, the BJP won eight and was leading in another constituency.
The Congress followed a close second.
The BJP has won six of the seven seats of the Malwa-Nimar region, both in Bundelkhand region, one out of the two seats of central MP and the lone seat of the Mahakoshal region. Out of these 19 winning/leading BJP candidates, 13 are Scindia loyalists.
Of the 12 ministers in the fray, nine either won or were leading, while three, including Scindia loyalist Imarti Devi (Dabra) and Giriraj Dandotiya (Dimani), besides Aidal Singh Kansana (Sumaoli) had either lost or were trailing.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed it as the victory of development-centric politics of BJP.
BJP minister Imarti Devi loses bypoll
Congress candidate Suresh Raje defeated Imarti Devi, considered a loyalist of BJP Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia, by a margin of 7,633 votes, the official said.
The minister got 68,056 votes, while her Congress rival received 75,689 ballots, he said.
BSP candidate Santosh Gaur got 4,883 votes, while 1,690 electors preferred NOTA.
Imarti Devi, along with nearly two dozens other Congress MLAs, had quit the party in March this year to join the BJP.
She was later inducted in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet and the BJP fielded her from Dabra in Gwalior district.
State Congress president Kamal Nath's item jibe at Imarti Devi during campaigning had generated a controversy and invited criticism.
The former chief minister later expressed regret over the comment.
Wrestler bites dust
BJP candidate and Olympian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt lost the bypoll at Baroda seat in Haryana. Congress candidate Indu Raj Narwal won by more than 10,000 votes.
This is the second time that the wrestler has lost the polls from this seat after 2019.
(With PTI Inputs)