The News Minute | August 25, 2014 | 7.02 pm ISTThe Assembly seats that went to by polls threw up some surprising results, and the BJP did not do as well as expected in all of them.In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, three Assembly segments went to polls, the BJP won two of them; in Congress-ruled Karnataka, the Congress won two of the three seats; the RJD-JD (U)-Congress combine won six of the 10 seats; and in Punjab the Shiromani Akali Dal, an ally of the BJP lost the lone Patiala seat to Preneet Kaur of the Congress.Bihar: Just three months after the BJP-led alliance swept the Lok Sabha polls, the new combine of the RJD, JD-U and Congress stunned the BJP by winning six of the 10 assembly seats in Bihar.Wild celebrations erupted outside the offices of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in particular, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- on the same road -- was deserted as the by-election results came in.In a stunning reversal of fortunes, the RJD won three seats, its new found ally JD-U two while the Congress wrested the Bhagalpur seat from the BJP after a gap of 23 long years.The RJD victories came from Mohiuddinnagar, Rajnagar and Chapra. The JD-U won in Jale and Parbatta.The BJP, which was confident of crushing the opposition, was declared elected from Hajipur, Mohania, Narkatiaganj and Banka constituencies. Its ally, the Lok Janshakti Party, was routed.Of the 10 seats, the BJP had won six, the RJD three and the JD-U one in the last assembly elections in 2010.The Aug 21 by-elections were seen as a litmus test for both the BJP as well as the RJD and JD-U, which came together after two decades soon after the Lok Sabha results came out in May.The Congress later joined the alliance to take on the BJP-LJP combine.RJD leader Ashok Kumar Sinha said the victory of the new alliance showed that the "magic of Lalu and Nitish has clicked", referring to former chief ministers Lalu Prasad (RJD) and Nitish Kumar (JD-U).Nitish Kumar resigned as chief minister in May after the Lok Sabha disaster. A new JD-U government, led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, took power with the backing of its former foe, the RJD."The Modi factor has failed," Sinha gloated, referring to BJP mascot and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.JD-U leader Sanjay Singh said the results proved that Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar were right in joining hands again."It was the first major political test after the general election and ahead of next year's assembly polls in Bihar," he said. "The alliance of RJD-JD-U-Congress has gained."BJP leaders in the state were shattered but put up a brave front.BJP's Syed Shahnawaz Hussain took moral responsibility for the poor showing. Party spokesman Vinod Narain Jha, however, claimed the results would have no impact on the assembly polls next year.In Bhagalpur, Ajit Sharma of the Congress won by 8,000 votes over Nabhay Choudhary of BJP.The by-election was caused by the resignation of former minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Buxar on a BJP ticket."It is a big win for Congress," state Congress president Ashok Choudhary said. The BJP had been winning the seat since 1990.Bhagalpur, an urban centre, was considered a stronghold of the BJP.Karnataka: The ruling Congress Monday wrested the prestigious Bellary (ST) seat and retained Chikkodi-Sadalga seat while the BJP won from Shikaripura in assembly by-elections in Karnataka.N.Y. Gopalakrishna of the Congress trounced Obalesh of the Bharatiya Janata Party by 33,104 votes in the Bellary reserved constituency, 330 km from Bangalore.Of the total votes polled, Gopalakrishna secured 83,906 and Obalesh 50,802.The election was caused by the resignation of former BJP minister B.R. Sriramulu, who contested on the BSR ticket in the May 2013 assembly polls, on winning the Bellary Lok Sabha seat on BJP ticket.In Chikkodi-Sadalga, Ganesh Hukkeri of the Congress won by 31,820 votes defeating K.M. Mallikarjun of the BJP.The resignation of former Congress minister Prakash Hukkeri, father of Ganesh, after he won the Chikkodi Lok Sabha seat caused the by-election in this constituency, about 570 km from Bangalore.In Shikaripura, B.Y. Raghavendra of the BJP defeated H.S. Shanthavirappa Gowda of the Congress by a slender margin of 6,430 votes to retain the seat.The resignation of former BJP chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on winning from the Shimoga Lok Sabha seat necessitated the by-poll in Shikaripura in Malnad region, about 260 km from Bangalore.The by-elections witnessed a record voter turnout in all three assembly segments, with 86 percent in Chikkodi, 72 percent in Shikaripura and 71 percent in Bellary.Madhya Pradesh:The ruling BJP won two seats and the Congress one Monday in by-elections in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP wrested one of the seats from the Congress while the Congress snatched one from the BJP.Bharatiya Janata Party candidates emerged victorious in Aagar and Vijayraghavgarh assembly constituencies. The Congress won from Bahoriband.In Vijayraghavgarh, BJP's Sanjay Pathak defeated Brajendra Mishra of the Congress by over 50,000 votes. Pathak was the outgoing Congress lawmaker and joined the BJP before the polls.In Aagar, BJP's Gopal Parmar trounced Rajkumar Gore of the Congress by over 27,000 votes. Manohar Untwal vacated this seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Ujjain.The Congress hit back in Bahoriband.Its candidate Sourabh Singh defeated BJP's Pranav Pandey by over 7,000 votes. The seat fell vacant following the death of Pranav Pandey's father and legislator Prabhat Pandey. With IANS