Opposition bloc bags 4 of 5 bypoll seats, BJP’s lone victory in Gujarat

In the results for byelections to five Assembly segments across Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal and Gujarat declared on Monday, the BJP had to settle for a lone win in Gujarat’s Kadi reserved seat while opposition bloc parties walked away with the remaining four.

The Aam Aadmi Party retained both its seats–Visavadar in Gujarat and Ludhiana West in Punjab. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress again registered a victory in Nadia district’s Kaliganj segment, improving the victory margin over 2021.

In Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front dealt a major blow to the ruling Left Democratic Front by wresting Nilambur from the CPM-led coalition. This is the fourth consecutive bypoll loss for the LDF in the southern state.

Overall, the results came as a shot in the arm for opposition parties considering this was the last election cycle before the Assembly elections in Bihar later this year, followed by West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam in 2026.

For the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, today’s victories were the first following party’s Delhi debacle earlier this year. A spirited saffron campaign in Visavadar failed to break the 18-year jinx for the BJP, which has not won this segment since 2007. Visavadar was at the centre of the Patidar agitation in 2007. AAP’s former state chief Gopal Italia today defeated BJP’s Kirit Patel here by 17,554 votes.

The only bright spot for the BJP today was Kadi SC reserved seat of Mehsana where party’s Rajendra Chavda trumped Congress’ Ramesh Chavda by 39,452 votes. The BJP, however, took heart from Punjab performance where its candidate Jivan Gupta (20,323 votes) finished third, close behind Congress’ Bharat Bhushan Ashu (24,542 votes) and much ahead of Akali Dal’s Parupkar Singh Ghuman (8,203 votes). The BJP and the SAD had parted ways in 2020 and contested the 2022 Assembly polls in Punjab separately. Both were decimated with two and three wins, respectively.

In Gujarat though both BJP and AAP retained their seats, Kejriwal described his party’s victories in Visavadar and Ludhiana West as spectacular, noting that people had rejected both the Congress and BJP. “Punjab has endorsed AAP government’s work and Gujarat has shown it is up for change," Kejriwal said.

In Bengal, where the BJP has launched an early campaign for the 2026 Assembly polls with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah both making key visits recently, the TMC retained Kaliganj and bettered its margins over 2021.

Kaliganj marked the 11th bypoll win for the TMC since the 2024 General Election. TMC’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said the party won 11 Assembly bypolls in the state with margins higher than it registered in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in these segments.

Trinamool’s Alifa Ahmed defeated BJP’s Ashish Ghosh in Kaliganj by a margin of 50,049 votes–higher than her father Nasiruddin Ahmed’s whose demise necessitated the byelection.

In Kerala, the UDF humbled the LDF by winning Nilambur by a margin of 11,077 votes. Party candidate Aryadan Shoukath defeated CPM state secretariat member M Swaraj, dealing the fourth straight bypoll loss to the ruling alliance in the state. The LDF’s previous byelection losses were in Puthuppally, Palakkad and Thrikkakara Assembly seats.

Interestingly, the CPM-backed independent candidate PN Anvar had won Nilambur in 2016 and 2021. The bypoll was required after Anvar’s Democratic Movement of Kerala merged with the TMC. Anvar is now the Kerala TMC chief.

Cong wins in Kerala

  • AAP retains one Assembly seat each in Punjab, Gujarat
  • TMC retains Kaliganj in WB with a better margin over 2021
  • Congress defeats CPM-led LDF in Kerala’s Nilambur
  • BJP retains Gujarat’s Kadi SC seat, but loses Visavadar

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