Polling for the by-elections of seven Assembly seats across six states — Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Tripura — is underway, marking the first electoral test for the opposition alliance INDIA against the BJP.
UP: Ghosi Assembly bypoll
Voting for the Ghosi assembly bypoll began at 7 am on Tuesday. The voting is being held at 455 polling stations and will conclude at 6 pm, the office of the state chief electoral officer said.
The Ghosi bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of Dara Singh Chauhan, who had won the seat in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, from the Samajwadi Party (SP) in July. The OBC leader returned to the BJP and was picked by the party to contest the Ghosi bypoll.
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Chauhan had defeated BJP candidate Vijay Kumar Rajbhar by a margin of 22,216 votes. Ghosi had recorded a polling percentage of 58.59.
This time, Chauhan is pitted against the SP's Sudhakar Singh.
Chauhan is also being supported by NDA partners Apna Dal (Sonelal), Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (NISHAD) Party and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, a former SP ally.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak campaigned for Chauhan.
Some INDIA bloc constituents -- Congress, CPI(M), CPI, RLD, AAP, CPI(ML)-Liberation and Suheldev Swabhiman Party -- have extended support to SP's Singh.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav were among the main campaigners for Singh.
The bypoll will have no bearing on the BJP government, which enjoys a comfortable majority in the 403-member state assembly. However, its outcome is important as it could be an indicator of what is in store for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Uttar Pradesh sends 80 MPs to the 543-member Lok Sabha.
Of the nearly 4.30 lakh voters in Ghosi, 90,000 are Muslims, 60,000 Dalits, 45,000 Bhumihars, 16,000 Rajputs and 6,000 Brahmins, according to estimates.
A total of 10 candidates are in the fray. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has not fielded any candidate in the bypoll. The counting of votes will be held on September 8.
West Bengal: Polling begins for Dhupguri Assembly bypoll
Voting for the by-election to the Dhupguri assembly constituency in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district began at 7 am on Tuesday, amid elaborate security arrangements, an official said.
Over 2.6 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll. Polling is taking place in 260 booths, of which 71 have been identified as sensitive, the official said.
CPI (M)'s Ishwar Chandra Roy is contesting as the candidate of the Congress-Left alliance, while the ruling TMC has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy, a teacher by profession.
The BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan who died fighting terrorists in Kashmir a few years back. The bypoll to the seat was necessitated by the death of its sitting BJP MLA, Bishu Pada Ray, earlier this year.
Dhupguri, a scheduled caste-reserved seat, has nearly 50 per cent Rajbanshi people and 15 per cent minority population. The BJP had snatched the constituency from the TMC in the 2021 assembly polls.
Kerala: Voting begins for Chandy's Puthuppally seat
Voting for the by-election in the Puthuppally assembly constituency in the Kottayam district began briskly with men, women and youngsters lining up early at booths that opened for polling at 7 am on Tuesday.
The ruling CPI (M) and the opposition Congress are locked in a fierce battle for the assembly seat representing this constituency that fell vacant after the demise of Congress stalwart and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
Chandy represented the constituency in Kottayam district for more than five decades without any break until his demise on July 18 this year.
The Congress-led opposition UDF has fielded Oommen Chandy's son, Chandy Oommen, which analysts view as an apparent strategy to capitalise on the sympathy wave following the former CM's death. The ruling Left Front once again decided to go with DYFI leader Jaick C Thomas who had unsuccessfully contested the segment in 2016 and 2021 against the late Chandy. The BJP has fielded its Kottayam district president, G Lijinlal.
In the present composition of the 2021 Kerala Assembly with a total of 140 seats, the ruling LDF has 99 seats, UDF has 40 seats with one vacant Puthuppally assembly seat.
There are 1,76,417 voters, including 90,281 women, 86,132 men, and four transgenders, in Puthuppally constituency. A total of 182 booths have been set up in the constituency for the people to cast their votes.
Jharkhand: Voting begins for Dumri Assembly bypoll
Polling for the by-election to the Dumri assembly seat in Jharkhand began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, amid tight security arrangements, an official said.
Voting is underway in 373 polling stations, of which around 200 have been identified as Maoist-affected booths, he said.
Polling is scheduled to continue till 5 p.m. Over 2.98 lakh voters, including 1.44 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election and will decide the electoral fate of six candidates, including three independents.
Heavy security arrangements have been made with the deployment of Jharkhand Armed Police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel along with home guards, the official said.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA and former education minister Jagarnath Mahto. He had been representing the seat since 2004.
The JMM has fielded Mahto's wife Bebi Devi as the nominee of the opposition bloc INDIA, while the AJSU party has nominated Yashoda Devi as the NDA candidate. The AIMIM has also fielded Md Abdul Mobin Rizvi. Votes will be counted on September 8.
Uttarakhand: Voting underway for Bageshwar Assembly
Voting for the bypoll to the Bageshwar assembly seat in Uttarakhand began at 7 am on Tuesday. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting BJP MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April. He had won the seat in four consecutive polls since 2007.
The bypoll is important as its verdict will reflect the mood of voters in Uttarakhand ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP won all five Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2014 and 2019 general elections.
The bypoll result is also being touted as a progress report of the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami-led BJP government, which has completed over a year of its second term after registering a massive win in the 2022 Uttarakhand assembly elections.
The BJP has fielded Das' widow Parvati in the bypoll and is hoping to capitalise on sympathy votes to retain the seat. There are four other candidates in the fray -- Congress' Basant Kumar, Samajwadi Party's Bhagvati Prasad, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal's Arjun Dev and Uttarakhand Parivartan Party's Bhagwat Kohli. However, the direct contest is likely to be between the BJP and the Congress.
The seat has seen straight contests between the two parties in successive polls since 2000 when Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. Congress' Kumar had contested from Bageshwar on an AAP ticket in the 2022 assembly polls. He quit the AAP to join the Congress days before he was fielded by the party.
Tripura: Voting underway for bypolls to two assembly seats
Voting for the by-elections to Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district is underway on Tuesday, amid heavy deployment of security personnel, an official said.
Polling began at 7 am in 59 booths in Dhanpur assembly constituency and 51 in Boxanagar, and is scheduled to continue till 4 pm.
BJP's Tafajjal Hussain, who unsuccessfully contested the last assembly election from Boxanagar, is contesting against CPI(M) nominee Mizan Hussain.
The Boxanagar assembly segment has 66 per cent minority voters of a total of 43,087 electors. In the last assembly elections in February, the CPI(M) managed to retain the seat. The Dhanpur assembly constituency, once considered a stronghold of the Left, will witness a fight between BJP's Bindu Debnath and Kaushik Debnath of CPI(M).
There are 50,346 eligible voters.
The BJP won the seat for the first time in the assembly poll held seven months ago. The Congress and the Tripra Motha did not field their candidates in the two seats for the bypolls.
The by-election to the Boxanagar constituency was necessitated by the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque. Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik's resignation as the MLA of Dhanpur necessitated the by-election to that seat. The counting of votes will take place on September 8.
(With inputs from PTI)