People's anger against corruption had led to the Congress loss in the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection in Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Monday.
The Congress lost the Hisar byelection, seen as significant as Anna Hazare and his team had campaigned against the party, to Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), an alliance partner of the BJP. While the Indian National Lok Dal came second, the state's ruling Congress finished third in the election.
BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi told reporters that it was a victory of democracy. “The byelection results show that the people of India have voted against corruption and the Congress,” Joshi said. “This is a victory of democracy. It also indicates which way the political wind is blowing in the country,” he said. His colleague, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, thanked the people of Haryana and said their alliance with the HJC would continue.
“Thanks to people of Haryana particularly the electorate of Hissar for supporting the BJP-HJC alliance and electing their joint candidate Shri Kuldeep Bishnoi,” Swaraj tweeted. “The BJP-HJC alliance will continue in future also,” she said. The Hisar seat fell vacant in June following the death of three-time chief minister Bhajan Lal, Bishnoi's father.