UP bypolls: SP retains Bilari, Jangipur seats

Ruling Samajwadi Party today retained both Bilari and Jangipur Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where bye-elections were held on May 16. From Bilari (Moradabad/Shamli) Assembly seat, SP candidate Mohammad Fahim 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.

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.