Assembly bypolls cheer for BJP, Congress

The results to the bypolls for nine legislative assembly seats across seven states have given opportunities in equal measure to rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress to exult.

The BJP won five of the nine seats, the Congress bagged three and Trinamool Congress one.

Apart from Delhi, where the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost a seat it had held, the other results largely followed the trend of ruling parties retaining seats in bypolls. Polling for these was on Sunday. The bypolls were part of the Election Commission's effort to fill all vacant assembly and Lok Sabha seats before the presidential