Firozabad:
In the glass town of Firozabad, a shattering result. Actor Raj Babbar has brought the Congress back to power after 25 years. He's been elected Member of Parliament in the by-election. With a little help, he says, from Rahul Gandhi, who campaigned for him.
As startling as the Congress' comeback, the fact that Babbar has defeated Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law, Dimple, by 85,000 votes.
In May, Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple's husband had won Firozabad for the Samajwadi Party with 70,000 votes; just 6000 voters opted for the Congress.
Akhilesh vacated the seat, opting instead to represent Kannauj in the Lok Sabha. That may have led to a sense of abandonment among the large Yadav community here.
Mulayam Singh's alliance with Kalyan Singh may also have alienated Muslim voters.
"I congratulate Rahul Gandhi for the performance of Congress party in Firozabad. He had campaigned for Raj Babbar and it was because of his influence that Congress managed to wrest the seat from us," SP general secretary Amar Singh told reporters.
While the Samajwadi Party lost Firozabad, it also failed to win any of the 11 Assembly seats for which elections were held on Tuesday.