UP bypolls: SP retains Bilari, Jangipur; Congress forfeits deposit

LUCKNOW: Ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh today retained Bilari and Jangipur Assembly seats in the bypoll held on May 16 defeating nearest rival candidates from BJP.

The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) did not contest the bypoll in which both Congress candidates forfeited their security deposit.

From Bilari (Moradabad/Shamli) Assembly seat, SP candidate Mohammad Fahim, who got 9,044 votes, won with a margin of 7,063 votes against his nearest rival BJP's Suresh Saini, officials said.

From Jangipur (Ghazipur), SP candidate Kismati Devi won with a margin of 22,092 votes against her nearest rival BJP candidate Ramesh Singh, they said.

Kismati Devi polled 82,316 votes, while Singh secured 60,224 votes.

The Congress candidate in Jangipur secured only 6,852 votes and remained at fourth slot, while local Bhartiya Samaj Party candidate Dinesh Maurya got more votes (8,925 votes) than him.

In Bilari, the performance of Congress was worse with its candidate Shishupal Singh securing only 3,670 votes only.

Both the Congress candidates forfeited their deposits after failing to secure 1/6th of the total valid votes polled, as stipulated by the election commission.

The Jangipur seat fell vacant after sitting MLA and Cabinet minister Kailash Yadav died of a brain hemorrhage in February, while bypoll in Bilari was necessitated due to the death of 64-year-old Haji Irfan in a road accident on March 10.

Yadav, who held the Panchayati Raj portfolio, wielded considerable influence in eastern UP and his death was considered a setback for the party.

Irfan, a first-time legislator, had died after the vehicle he was travelling in fell into a ditch.