Lucknow, Nov 23 (PTI) Sishamau Assembly bypoll winner SP's Naseem Solanki on Saturday said she will visit temples, churches and gurdwaras for the sake of her supporters, while runner-up BJP's Suresh Awasthi blamed the division of Hindu votes for his loss.
BJP's Ramveer Singh, meanwhile, thanked the Muslim voters in the Kundarki assembly constituency for the "bumper" vote margin he won with.
Naseem was fielded from Sishamau in Kanpur after her jailed husband Irfan Solanki was disqualified as MLA from the family bastion seat. Irfan was jailed for arson in a woman's house.
"The way people were harassed and beaten during bypolls yet they cast their votes, I salute them. I thank the party workers and most of all the party president (Akhilesh Yadav) for giving me this opportunity. This seat belongs to my husband Irfan Solanki," Naseem told reporters after the results.
Asked about visiting a temple in the run-up to the bypolls, she said, "I have no problem going to mandir, church or gurdwara for my supporters. If it keeps my supporters happy, then why not. I will also get works done there (places of worship)."
Meanwhile, BJP's Suresh Awasthi who lost to Naseem by 8,654 votes, blamed the division in votes for his defeat.
"Somewhere we had thought the Hindu votes won't get divided. But the Hindu votes got divided and that has resulted in my (defeat). The result is yet to be out (officially)," he told reporters.
Awasthi said he won't comment on the impact of the 'katoge to batoge' slogan. He said caste equations and how other parties contested the bypolls in the seat was a matter of detailed analysis.
In Kundarki, BJP's Ramveer Singh said he expected a win by a 50,000-vote margin but ended up with a whopping 1.45 lakh vote gap. He added that among those who encouraged him to contest the polls were Muslim community members of his constituency.
"Muslim voters from three generations are my supporters and they have full faith in me. I will serve them with honesty and dedication. Had they not had faith in me, I would not have got such bumper votes," Singh said, after securing victory of the BJP on the seat after several years.
"People love me and they were unhappy with the Samajwadi Party. They have voted for honesty, development and the 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas' policy of PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath," Singh told reporters.
In Karhal, SP's Tej Pratap Yadav secured a victory against his fufa BJP's Anujesh Pratap Singh. He also alleged that voters were harassed during the voting process and claimed SP supporters were prevented from voting.
"We will increase the vote margin in future, whatever shortcomings are there we will fix them," Yadav told reporters.
In Meerapur, Mithilesh Pal of the RLD, an ally of the BJP, secured victory and said CM Adityanath's magic worked for the alliance candidates.
"No doubt there is power in unity," she said when asked about the CM's 'batoge to katoge' slogan. She also thanked RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary for giving an "ordinary worker of the backward community" to fight the election.
BJP's Surender Diler, who won from the Khair (SC) seat in Aligarh district, rubbished SP's allegations of irregularities during the bypolls.
In Ghaziabad, BJP's winning candidate Sanjeev Sharma told reporters that his tenure as MLA would be two years approximately during which he will get the development work done as much as he would have done in five years.
"Along with getting the Dudheshwarath temple corridor built, I will especially work in the field of medicine and education," Sharma said.
He credited the party organisation and workers for his victory and "direct connection" with the public.
In Katehari, BJP's Dharmraj Nishad secured victory for the party after three decades. "It was the people of the constituency and the party workers who fought the election for me. I am thankful that a poor man like me was given a chance by the BJP and the result is that lotus has bloomed here after so many years," Nishad told reporters.
In Phulpur, BJP's winning candidate Deepak Patel said the party cadre ensured his victory and he went to the electorate with the main issue of development. "People were convinced that only the BJP can do good for them," he said.
In Majhawan, BJP's Suchismita Maurya credited her victory to the party. "BJP works for everyone, it does not engage in politics of appeasement. This worked for me," she said.