Assembly bypolls: Voting underway in 31 seats in big INDIA vs BJP contest

Voting is underway in bypolls in 31 Assembly seats across 10 states in what is being seen as a litmus test for the Congress and the INDIA bloc following the debacle in the recently held Haryana elections. Bypolls are also being held in Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, where Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi is making her electoral debut.
Bypolls are being held in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two in Madhya Pradesh, and one each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Meghalaya. Bypolls in 14 other Assembly seats across Kerala, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh will be held on November 20 along with the Maharashtra Assembly election.
The ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha in Sikkim has already won two seats unopposed. The results will be announced on November 23.
A win in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, coupled with an edge in the bypolls to the 46 seats, will help restore confidence in the INDIA bloc. For the BJP, a win in Maharashtra and a return in Jharkhand, after Haryana, will help shake off the Lok Sabha jitters.
In Rajasthan, bypolls are being held in Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khinvsar, Chaurasi, Salumbar, and Ramgarh. Of the seven seats, four were held by the Congress, and one each by the BJP, Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party.
The Dausa bypoll will be keenly watched as Cabinet minister Kirodi Lal Meena’s brother Jagmohan Meena is contesting against Congress’s Deen Dayal. The polls will be an opportunity for the BJP to wrest lost ground after it lost 11 out of the 25 seats it held in the Lok Sabha polls.
In West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress won five of the six seats — Taldangra, Sitai (SC), Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, and Madarihat — in the 2021 Assembly polls. The Madarihat seat was held by the BJP.
The bypolls are witnessing a four-way contest between the TMC, BJP, Left and Congress. The TMC, Congress, and BJP have fielded candidates for all six seats. The Left Front has announced candidates for five seats.
In Assam, where voting is being held in five seats, nearly 13 per cent polling was seen in the first two hours. Dholai, Behali, Samaguri, Bongaigaon, and Sidli are the seats that went to the polls. Behali will be in focus after Congress fielded its own candidate after disagreeing with the INDIA bloc’s resolution to give the seat to the Left.
“Your voice matters and the choice you make will determine the course of your constituency’s development in the coming days,” Chief Minister Himanta Sarma tweeted on Wednesday.
In Bihar, bypolls are being held in the Ramgarh, Tarari, Imamganj, and Belaganj seats. The RJD had won two of the four seats in the previous election. The constituencies are considered a stronghold of the Mahagathbandhan, comprising the RJD, the Left and the Congress.
However, all eyes will be on the performance of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which is making its maiden electoral foray.
In Karnataka, voting is being held in three Assembly constituencies. The results of Channapatna will be keenly tracked as JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the son of former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, has been fielded from the seat. The seat was vacated by HD Kumaraswamy after being elected to Lok Sabha. A win for Nikhil will bolster the prospects of the JD(U) in Karnataka’s political landscape.
In Madhya Pradesh, bypolls are being held in Budhni and Vijaypur Assembly seats. The bypolls for Budhni seat will be in focus as it was a bastion of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Chouhan was elected to the Lok Sabha and is now the Union Agriculture Minister.