Gurdaspur by-polls: 'Congress' victory proof people are aware of BJP's fake promises'

Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) [India] October 15 (ANI): Senior Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Sunday said his party's massive victory in the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha by-polls has shown people are aware of the false promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"I give my heartiest congratulations to party candidate Sunil Jakhar and our Congress section of Punjab. I have full faith on the people of India that they have understood that the BJP only does fake promises and they do nothing. Now they are fed up with the saffron party and they will make Congress victorious," Azad told ANI.

Azad also said the Congress' victory will not stop here and it will also sweep Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat in upcoming elections.

Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar emerged victorious after he defeated the BJP-SAD alliance candidate, businessman Swaran Salaria by a margin of 1.93 lakh votes.

"Today, even the traditional vote-bank of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also left it. They either didn't turn up to vote or voted for the Congress," Jakhar told reporters after his victory.

The Gurdaspur parliamentary seat has nine assembly segments -- Bhoa, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Dinanagar, Qadian, Fathegarh Churian, Dera Baba Nanak, Sujanpur, and Batala.

The Lok Sabha by-elections held on October 11 were necessitated after the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the death of BJP MP Vinod Khanna.

Khanna represented the constituency from 1998 to 2004, and later from 2004 until his death in April this year. (ANI)