The ruling BJP government in Uttarakhand suffered a major setback on Saturday as the Congress won the Manglaur and Badrinath Assembly bypolls despite vigorous campaigning by a majority of BJP ministers in both constituencies.

While the BJP’s Kartar Singh Bhadana came third in the Manglaur seat in Haridwar district, the Congress’s Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin won by a margin of about 450 votes against Bahujan Samaj Party’s Odedur Rehman.

In Badrinath, Lakhpat Singh Butola of the Congress defeated the BJP’s Rajendra Singh Bhandari by about 5,000 votes.

The by-elections were necessitated following the demise of Sarwat Karim Ansari, the sitting BSP MLA of Manglaur, and the defection of Bhandari, the then Congress MLA of Badrinath, to the BJP early this year.

“The BJP had tried every means to manipulate the by-elections in Manglaur and Badrinath. Our victory margins would have been much higher if the government agencies had allowed our voters to reach the polling booths. It clearly indicates that the BJP would be ousted in the 2027 Assembly elections,” said Karan Mahara, state president of the Congress.

Mahara had alleged during polling that the Congress voters were prevented from voting and his party’s polling agents were intimidated or lured.

“After Ayodhya, we have defeated the BJP in Badrinath and Haridwar’s Manglaur,” said Harish Rawat, former chief minister of the state.

“I thank the party workers and also the media for being alert and impartial in reporting when the BJP was trying to use unfair means to win elections with the help of police and district administrations,” added Rawat.