Tulki Devi, 102, shows her finger marked with indelible ink after casting her vote in the Mandi Lok Sabha seat by-election in Kullu district.
Bypolls to three Lok Sabha and 29 assembly constituencies spread across 13 states were held on Saturday with 50-80 per cent voting recorded. INLD leader Abhay Chautala, who had quit the Haryana Assembly to protest against the agricultural laws, and Congress’s Pratibha Singh, wife of late Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, were among the prominent candidates.
Polling was conducted peacefully and it was ensured that all COVID-19 safety measures were followed.
Haryana
In Haryana, 80 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the by-election to the Ellenabad assembly constituency, which was necessitated by the resignation of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala from the post of MLA in protest against the Centre’s new agricultural laws.
INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala’s son Chautala is contesting against Congress candidate Pawan Beniwal and BJP-JP candidate Gobind Kanda, brother of Haryana Lokhit Party chief and MLA Gopal Kanda.
It is a crucial contest for Chautala as Abhay won the 2010 by-election from Ellenabad, when the seat was vacated by Om Prakash Chautala, and then retained it in 2014 and also in the 2019 assembly elections, when he was elected to the House. He was the only INLD MLA.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Election Commission officials said that 75.51 percent polling was recorded in Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha constituency. Voting ended at 7 pm.
The bypoll to the constituency, which is part of the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, was necessitated by the death of seven-time independent MP Mohan Delkar, whose wife Kalaben Delkar is contesting as a Shiv Sena candidate. Huh. Mahesh Gavit of BJP and Mahesh Dhodi of Congress.
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi Lok Sabha seat, from where Pratibha Singh is contesting, saw a relatively low 49.83 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm. It was pitted against BJP’s Khushal Singh Thakur, a Kargil war hero who is trying his luck in an election for the first time.
The Mandi seat fell vacant after the death of Ramswaroop Sharma (BJP) in March. 104-year-old Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of independent India, casts his vote at the Adarsh polling station in Kalpa, Kinnaur district.
In the three assembly seats, Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai, polling was 62.4 per cent, 61.33 per cent and 66.1 per cent, respectively, till 5 pm.
The by-polls in Himachal Pradesh are significant as the state’s assembly elections are due early next year.
Apart from three assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, five assembly seats in Assam, four in West Bengal, three each in Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya, two each in Bihar, Karnataka and Rajasthan and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra. But by-elections were held. , Mizoram and Telangana.
Of these, about half a dozen seats were with the BJP, nine with the Congress, while the rest were with regional parties. The counting of votes will take place on November 2.
Khandwa Lok Sabha seat Madhya Pradesh, whose MP BJP’s Nand Kumar Singh Chouhan had died, recorded 63.88 per cent voter turnout, while the three assembly seats recorded an estimated 64.60 per cent voter turnout.
In Assam69.60 per cent polling was recorded till 5 pm in five assembly constituencies of Gosaigaon, Bhabnipur, Tamulpur, Mariani and Thaura.
The ruling BJP has fielded its candidates in three seats and has left alliance partner UPPL in the other two seats. The Congress has fielded candidates on all five seats, while its former allies AIUDF and BPF are contesting on two and one seat respectively.
West Bengal
High turnout of around 71 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in four assembly constituencies of West Bengal. BJP and TMC had two seats each.
Barring a few sporadic incidents, polling, which began at 7 am in all the four constituencies, went off peacefully, an Election Commission official said. A scuffle was reported between TMC and BJP supporters outside a booth in Khardah and security personnel resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.
The by-election in Kharda became necessary due to the death of Kajal Sinha due to COVID-19. According to TMC members, Sinha’s son Arjodeep got injured in the scuffle and had to be admitted to the hospital.
In Dinhata, TMC veteran Udayan Guha wants to regain the seat that the BJP snatched from him in the April election. The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik, as he decided to retain his Lok Sabha membership.
In Shantipur, BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar resigned from the assembly, thus calling for a by-election. The Dinhata and Shantipur bypolls are being seen as a prestige battle for the BJP, which is currently battling with an exodus of MLAs and senior leaders.
In A state in Eastern IndiaAn estimated 49.60 per cent polling was recorded in Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur, two assembly constituencies held by the JD(U).
In the by-elections held in Rajasthan’s Dhariawad and Vallabhnagar assembly seats, an average of 70 per cent voting was recorded. The by-election had to be held due to the death of Congress MLA Gajendra Singh Shaktiwat from Vallabhnagar and Gautam Lal Meena, BJP MLA from Dhariyawad. In Vallabhnagar, the ruling Congress party has given ticket to Preeti Shaktiwat, wife of Gajendra Shaktiwat, while the BJP has fielded Himmat Singh Jhala.
Congress has fielded Nagraj Meena against BJP candidate Khet Singh Meena from Dhariawad. While the number of constituencies that go to the bypolls is not significant from the standpoint of the government’s stability, the results will send a message about the performance of the Congress-led government across the state, which faced a major threat due to insurgency last year. Was. Sachin Pilot, the then Deputy Chief Minister and led by him had 18 MLAs.
Karnataka
An estimated 56.78 per cent voter turnout was witnessed in the by-elections to Sindgi and Hangal assembly constituencies in Karnataka.
The bypoll has been necessitated following the deaths of Sindgi JD(S) MLA MC Managuli and BJP’s CM Udasi from Hangal and will be the first election test for Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who replaced BS Yediyurappa.
Ramesh Bhushanur, who came second after Managuli in the 2018 elections, is the BJP candidate from Sindgi, while Shivraj Sajjanar is its candidate from Hangal constituency.
Congress has fielded MC Managuli’s son Ashok Managuli as its candidate from Sindgi, while former MLC Srinivas Mane is its candidate from Hangal.
The JD(S), which was the first to announce its candidates, has fielded 33-year-old Nazia Shakeel Ahmed Angadi from Sindgi and 35-year-old BE, M.Tech graduate Niyaz Sheikh from Hangal.
Telangana
In Telangana, bypolls were held in Huzurabad assembly constituency, in which the ruling TRS, opposition BJP and Congress were locked in a triangular contest.
The bypoll has become necessary in view of the resignation of Eatala Rajender in June after he was dropped from the state cabinet on land grabbing charges. Rajendra, who dismissed the allegations, had quit the TRS and is contesting on a BJP ticket.
The bypoll is seen as a do-or-die battle for Rajendra, while it is crucial for the BJP as it aims to emerge as an alternative to the ruling TRS in the 2023 assembly elections.
Although by-elections were also announced for the Shamtore-Chesore assembly constituency in Nagaland, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party candidate S Keoshu Yimchungar was declared elected unopposed on 13 October.
By-polls were also held in Andhra Pradesh’s Badvel seat, which was earlier held by the YSRC.
Meghalaya
More than 64 per cent polling was recorded in Meghalaya’s Rajabala, Mawringkneng and Mawphlang seats.
Former national footballer Eugeneson Lyngdoh is contesting from Mawphlang on a United Democratic Party (UDP) ticket. He is up against former Congress MLA Kennedy C Khairim and Lampharang Blah, a sitting member of the District Council (MDC) from the NPP.
The by-polls were held in Maharashtra’s Deglur, which was earlier held by the Congress, and in Mizoram’s Tuiriyal assembly seat.
(with PTI input)
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