Bypolls Updates: Voting underway in 13 Assembly seats across 7 states
Voting for by-elections in 13 assembly constituencies across seven states began at 7 am on Wednesday.
This electoral exercise, the first since the Lok Sabha elections, will determine the fate of several veterans and newcomers, including Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The constituencies involved are Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala in West Bengal; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh.
The bypolls are being held due to vacancies caused by deaths or resignations of incumbent members.
Key assembly seats going for polls
– Himachal Pradesh: The Congress party nominated Kamlesh Thakur, who is the wife of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, for the elections.
– Punjab (Jalandhar West): Chief Minister Bhagwat Mann is actively campaigning for the AAP’s candidate, Mohinder Bhagat.
– West Bengal: In West Bengal, three out of four seats previously won by the BJP in 2021 are now vacant due to members defecting to the Trinamool Congress. Krishna Kalyani and Mukut Mani Adhikhari, former BJP members, will contest for the TMC in Raiganj and Ranaghat Dakshin.
– Uttarakhand: In the Badrinath constituency, Rajendra Bhandari, a former Congress MLA who joined the BJP, is running against Congress candidate Lakhpat Butola. In the Muslim-majority Manglaur constituency, Congress has nominated senior leader Qazi Nizamuddin, while the BJP, which has never won this seat, is fielding Kartar Singh Bhadana.
– Tamil Nadu: The AIADMK has chosen to boycott the elections in Vikravandi, citing concerns over the electoral process’s fairness.
– Bihar: The electoral contest in Bihar is between the RJD and JD(U), with both parties fielding candidates from the predominant Gangota community.
– Madhya Pradesh: The BJP aims to challenge Congress veteran Kamal Nath’s constituency by fielding Kamlesh Shah, while the Congress has nominated Dheeran Shah Invati in the tribal-dominated area.