'Inko dhul chatayenge': RLD's Tabassum Hasan calls for united Opposition to decimate BJP

LUCKNOW: In a strong-worded statement, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate Tabassum Hasan, who sprung a surprise victory on Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) Mriganka Singh, said that a united Opposition can decimate the BJP in 2019.

“Ab kisi baat ka koi asar hone wala nahi hai. Ahankari logon ne ye kehna suru kar diya tha ki hamara koi vikalp nahi hai. To vikalp to uparwala nikalta hai. Upar wale ne vilakp nikal diya. Ab saath mil kar chalenge aur inko dhul chatayenge inshallah 2019 mein (Now nothing will affect us. Egoistic persons had started saying that (people have) no option. God gives us options. Now God has given us an option. A united Opposition will decimate them (BJP) in 2019).”

Hasan added that BJP unnecessarily raked up the issue of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the run-up the Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls. She said that the ruling party tried to divert the attention of people and mislead them.

After 19 rounds of counting of votes in Kairana Lok Sabha constituency, Hasan was ahead of Singh with more than 45,000 votes. The RLD candidate was backed by Opposition parties Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in the byelections.

Accepting defeat, BJP's Singh later told ANI, “Many voters did vote for BJP but with a lead of some thousand votes the alliance has won. I would like to congratulate the candidate. The alliance has emerged strong and now we have to prepare better for future.”

The counting of votes for bypolls of four high-stake Lok Sabha seats – Kairana, Bhandara-Gondia and Palghar and Nagaland parliamentary constituency – began at 8 am on Thursday. 

The saffron party is headed for a big upset in Uttar Pradesh's Kairana and Bhandara-Gondia seat of Maharashtra. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is running ahead of the ruling party in Bhandara-Gondia.

Reacting to the trends in Palghar, where the BJP is leading, the Shiv Sena has hit out at the BJP, challenging it to contest elections through ballot papers and not Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Repolling at the four Lok Sabha constituencies took place on Wednesday, May 30. The voter turn-out at Kairana was 61 per cent while Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha recorded 45 per cent turnout and Nagaland 44.68 per cent.