8 years ago
New Delhi:
Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate Tabassum Hasan won the Kairana Lok Sabha by-elections, boosting the chances of a joint opposition front that had joined hands to take on the BJP in the parliamentary seat. The RLD candidate, backed by opposition parties Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, was fielded against Mriganka Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The by-elections was dubbed as semi final for the 2019 national elections.
Speaking to NDTV, Tabassum Hasan said that BJP unnecessarily raked up the issue of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the run up to the Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls. "When it comes to real issues, they (BJP) have nothing to say. They bring up issues like photos of (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah. After all, Jinnah was once from here. But that changed (after partition). That is not a real issue... the real issue is that of the farmers, the poor... on that, they have nothing to say," said RLD candidate Tabassum Hasan.
The Kairana by-election, a seat BJP won in 2014, is seen as a testing ground for opposition unity ahead of the 2019 elections in a state that sends the maximum number of lawmakers to parliament. The ruling BJP is locked in a straight fight with a joint opposition candidate.
The high-profile electoral contest saw over 54 per cent of the constituency's voters casting their mandate amid complaints of malfunctioning of EVM and VVPAT machines.
The seat fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh. His daughter Mriganka Singh is now contesting on the seat against Rashtriya Lok Dal's Tabassum Hasan, who also has the support of the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Apart from Kairana, counting of votes is taking place in three parliamentary seats and 10 assembly seats today. The assembly seats where the by-elections were held on Monday are Noorpur (Uttar Pradesh), Jokihat (Bihar), Tharali (Uttarakhand), Gomia and Silli (Jharkhand), Maheshtala (West Bengal), Ampati (Meghalaya), Palus Kadegaon (Maharashtra), Shahkot (Punjab) and Chengannur (Kerala).
Speaking to NDTV, Tabassum Hasan said that BJP unnecessarily raked up the issue of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the run up to the Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls. "When it comes to real issues, they (BJP) have nothing to say. They bring up issues like photos of (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah. After all, Jinnah was once from here. But that changed (after partition). That is not a real issue... the real issue is that of the farmers, the poor... on that, they have nothing to say," said RLD candidate Tabassum Hasan.
The Kairana by-election, a seat BJP won in 2014, is seen as a testing ground for opposition unity ahead of the 2019 elections in a state that sends the maximum number of lawmakers to parliament. The ruling BJP is locked in a straight fight with a joint opposition candidate.
The high-profile electoral contest saw over 54 per cent of the constituency's voters casting their mandate amid complaints of malfunctioning of EVM and VVPAT machines.
The seat fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh. His daughter Mriganka Singh is now contesting on the seat against Rashtriya Lok Dal's Tabassum Hasan, who also has the support of the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Apart from Kairana, counting of votes is taking place in three parliamentary seats and 10 assembly seats today. The assembly seats where the by-elections were held on Monday are Noorpur (Uttar Pradesh), Jokihat (Bihar), Tharali (Uttarakhand), Gomia and Silli (Jharkhand), Maheshtala (West Bengal), Ampati (Meghalaya), Palus Kadegaon (Maharashtra), Shahkot (Punjab) and Chengannur (Kerala).
