For a party battling against odds, the Assembly by-elections have given the Congress the consolation of gaining a majority of its own in Haryana. The Congress won the Ratia (SC) seat, while the Haryana Janhit Congress retained Adampur. The Congress wrested Ratia from the Indian National Lok Dal and secured a majority of its own in the 90-member Assembly, its strength having gone up to 46. In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress retained the Kolkata South Lok Sabha seat — which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave up after her entry into the Assembly — by defeating the CPI(M). Results of other by-elections in eight Assembly constituencies were also declared on Sunday. In Karnataka, the BJP suffered humiliation in the Bellary (ST) constituency, dominated by the Bellary brothers, where an Independent emerged winner. In Himachal, the Congress and the BJP took a seat from each other. The Congress wrested Nalagarh from the BJP, which returned the compliment winning the Renuka (SC) seat. The ruling Biju Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), an ally of the BJP, won the by-elections in the Umerkote (Odisha), Laukaha (Bihar) and Mandu constituencies respectively. In Odisha, the BJD won the Umerkote seat defeating the BJP in a triangular contest. Another triangular contest helped the ruling dispensation retain its seat in Jharkhand, where the JMM, an ally of the BJP, won the Mandu seat defeating the Congress. In Bihar, the ruling JD(U) won the Laukaha seat defeating the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
