NEW DELHI: Polling is underway for the assembly by-polls to 13 constituencies across seven states- Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.
Polling, which commenced at 7 am, will continue until 6 pm.
The assembly constituencies participating in the bypolls are Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala (West Bengal); Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh); Badrinath and Manglaur (Uttarakhand); Jalandhar West (Punjab); Rupauli (Bihar); Vikravandi (Tamil Nadu); and Amarwara (Madhya Pradesh).
In Himachal Pradesh, bypolls are being held for three assembly constituencies—Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh.
The vacancies in Hamirpur, Nalagarh, and Dehra arose after three independent MLAs resigned from the House to join the BJP, which were accepted by the Speaker.
In West Bengal, BJP's Kalyan Chaubey is contesting against TMC's Supti Pande in Maniktala. In Ranaghat Dakshin, TMC's Mukut Mani Adhikari is pitted against a BJP candidate. TMC's Madhuparna Thakur faces off against a BJP candidate in Bagda, while in Raiganj, BJP's Krishna Kalyani is up against a TMC candidate.
In Punjab's Jalandhar West constituency, the Aam Aadmi Party has nominated Mohinder Bhagat, while Congress has put forward Surinder Kaur.
The seat became vacant following the resignation of AAP MLA Sheetal Angural, who subsequently joined the BJP and is now contesting from the same seat.
In Uttarakhand, the Manglaur constituency will witness a three-cornered contest. The bypoll was necessitated by the demise of sitting BSP MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari in October last year.
Additionally, polling will be conducted for the Badrinath assembly bypoll. The seat became vacant after sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari resigned and joined the BJP in March this year.
The by-polls also include contests in Tamil Nadu's Vikravandi, and Madhya Pradesh's Amarwara, as well as Bihar's Rupauli.
The outcomes of these by-polls are crucial as they could impact the political landscape in these states ahead of upcoming state elections.