Varanasi, June 24: In a shot in the arm to the Mayawati government, ruling BSP in Uttar Pradesh today wrested Chiraigaon constituency from Samajwadi Party in the by-poll taking the party's strength in the 402 member House to 111. BSP candidate Virendra Singh defeated SP's Anil Rajbhar, son of Ramjit Rajbhar whose death necessitated the by-poll, by 3,510 votes.
"The victory proves the popularity of Chief Minister Mayawati is on the upswing. It is a befitting reply to the opposition canard that Mayawati-led government was losing popularity," BSP minister Sukhdev Rajbhar said in Lucknow. Top leaders like SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Kranti Party leader Kalyan Singh had campaigned for the crucial by-poll held amidst opposition claims of Mayawati losing majority in the wake of withdrawal of support of the 14 member RLD. The by-poll, which was held on June 21, was earlier slated for May 21 but was postponed following reports that the district administration was sympathetic towards the BSP candidate. Bureau Report