UP Bypolls: NDA's Shafeeq Ahmad Ansari Wins In Azam Khan's Bastian Suar

Shafeeq Ahmad Ansari of the Apna Dal (Soneylal) has emerged victorious in the Suar assembly by-polls located in Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan's Bastian Rampur.

The by-elections were held in Suar and Chhanbey assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. Ansari, who contested as the candidate of the Apna Dal (S) and BJP alliance, won the Suar seat by defeating SP candidate Anuradha Chauhan with a margin of 8,724 votes.

The Suar assembly seat in Rampur district was declared vacant on 13 February after Abdullah Azam Khan, the son of senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, was sentenced to two years in jail.

In Chhanbey, Apna Dal's Rinki Kol is ahead of SP's Kirti Kol.

The bypolls for the Suar and Chhanbey assembly seats witnessed a close contest between the SP and Apna Dal as the Bahujan Samaj Party chose to stay away and focus on the urban local body elections. The Congress party fielded a candidate in Chhanbey but did not contest in Suar. In total, 14 candidates were in the fray, with six in Suar and eight in Chhanbey.