Voting began at 7 AM on Thursday for by-elections across five assembly constituencies in Gujarat, Punjab, Kerala, and West Bengal. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 23.
These bypolls are considered crucial as both the NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc are competing for these seats.
In Gujarat, voters are casting their ballots in Visavadar and Kadi constituencies. The polling, conducted via Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), will continue until 6 PM. Each constituency has 294 polling stations, and the state government has declared a public holiday to facilitate voting.
The Visavadar seat in Junagadh has been vacant since December 2023 after AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the BJP. The BJP has nominated Kirit Patel, while Congress has fielded Nitin Ranpariya. AAP is also in the race with its former state president Gopal Italia.
Though dominant statewide, the BJP has not secured a win in Visavadar since 2007. The 2022 assembly polls saw AAP’s Bhayani defeat BJP’s Harshad Ribadiya by 7,063 votes.
The Kadi seat in Mehsana, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, has remained unoccupied since the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki in February. This bypoll is a three-way contest involving BJP’s Rajendra Chavda, Congress’s Ramesh Chavda, and AAP’s Jagdish Chavda. Ramesh Chavda previously held the seat in 2012 but lost in 2017.
Currently, the 182-member Gujarat Assembly includes 161 BJP MLAs, 12 from Congress, and four from AAP. The Samajwadi Party holds one seat, and independents hold two.
In Kerala, the Nilambur seat is witnessing a by-election due to the resignation of MLA PV Anvar, who switched allegiance from the Left to the Congress. Anvar is contesting as an Independent. The Congress has fielded Aryadan Shoukath, son of former MLA Aryadan Mohammed, while the LDF is supporting M Swaraj.
Polling is taking place in Kaliganj, West Bengal, following the death of TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed. His daughter, Alifa Ahamed, is running as the TMC candidate. The BJP has nominated Ashis Ghosh, and Congress’s Kabil Uddin Shaikh is contesting with CPI(M)’s support.
To maintain law and order, 14 companies of central forces have been deployed in the area, with polling set to end at 5 PM.
In Punjab, the Ludhiana West assembly seat is up for grabs after the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi. The election took a tense turn when Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu accused police officials of acting like AAP workers.
He claimed that his party worker was being targeted for stopping an alleged ration distribution campaign by the ruling party.
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