Just months after sweeping to power in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party faced an embarrassing defeat as Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader Simranjit Singh Mann claimed victory in the Sangrur by-polls.
Sangrur, which is the parliamentary constituency of CM Bhagwant Mann, voted in favour of Sikh hardliner SAD (Amritsar)’s Simranjit Singh Mann, who got 2,52,898 votes, out of a total of 7,10,825 votes. On the other hand, AAP candidate Gurmail Singh fell short with 2,46,828 votes, followed by Congress’s Dalveer Goldie, BJP’s Kewal Dhillon and Akali Dal’s Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana.
Several factors can be attributed to Simranjit Singh Mann’s victory in Sangrur, including his connection with slain Punjab singer Sidhu Moosewala and the late Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu. Reports are rife that Moosewala was slated to campaign for Mann and this is the reason voters voted fiercely for him.
Mann has also been an IPS
represented the Samajwadi Party from 2016 to 2022.
After winning the crucial by-poll seat, Lodhi said that he wants to dedicate his victory to the workers of the party as they have been working continuously day and night. Thanking the people of Rampur, he further added that BJP has always been working for the development of the public.
Dinesh Lal Yadav, on the other hand, is a popular Bhojpuri actor and singer turned politician. He joined the BJP in 2019 and lost against former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in 2019 by-polls by a margin of 259,874 votes.
Calling his victory ‘a victory of people’, Dinesh Lal Yadav tweeted, “You have done wonders, people of Azamgarh. This is your victory. With the announcement of the bypoll dates, the way all of you have showered love, support and blessings to the BJP, this is its victory. This victory is dedicated to your trust and hard work of party workers.”
Crediting BJP’s massive win to ‘double engine government’, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said, “The historic victory in the by-election in the Azamgarh Sadar Lok Sabha seat is the result of the welfare policies of the ‘double engine BJP government’ under the leadership of the respected Prime Minister. This victory is dedicated to all the hardworking workers of the BJP. Thanks people of Azamgarh!,” adding that the double engine victory of the BJP government in Azamgarh and Rampur is giving a far-reaching message for the 2024 elections in the politics of the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter and said, “The by-poll wins in Azamgarh and Rampur are historic. It indicates wide-scale acceptance and support for the double engine Governments at the Centre and in UP. Grateful to the people for their support. I appreciate the efforts of our Party Karyakartas.”
On being asked his reaction to the results, an agitated Azam Khan said, “It can neither be called an election, nor an election result. Polling station of 900 votes, and only 6 votes were cast? The area is of Muslims, and just one vote was casted? What reason should I cite?”
Akhilesh Yadav also shared a cryptic post after the declaration of results, sharing “chronology of the killing of democracy under BJP rule’, wherein he alleged “discrepancies at the time of enrollment, conspiracy to cancel enrollment, suppression of candidates, abuse of party force to prevent voting, pressure on public representatives and dismantling elected government’. He termed it as “the bitter truth of the elixir of freedom.”