In run-up to Guj election, BJP wins key bypolls in Bihar, Haryana, UP, Odisha

Blow To Ex-Ally Nitish; Cong Draws A Blank

BJP’s winning streak in by-polls continued on Sun-day with a 4-out-of-6 scorecard that came with bonuses like giving estranged ally Nitish Kumar’s re-engineered Grand Alliance in Bihar a reality check, dealing Naveen Patnaik-led BJD its first loss in a Odisha byelection in 13 years, running TRS close in Telangana’s Munugode and seeing Congress draw a blank across the board.

Of the seven seats in six states that went to the hustings on November 3, BJP had given Mumbai’s Andheri East seat a pass, virtually offering Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction a walkover in its first electoral battle since the coup led by current CM Eknath Shinde split its ranks. In BJP’s absence, NOTA finished second ahead of the six independents contesting against winning candidate Rutuja Latke.