In the first bypolls after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, voting for 13 Assembly constituencies across seven states began is underway. Polling began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm.

Polling for the byelection is underway in Rupauli in Bihar, Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagdah and Maniktala (all in West Bengal), Vikravandi (Tamil Nadu), Amarwara (Madhya Pradesh), Badrinath and Manglaur (all in Uttarakhand), Jalandhar West (Punjab) and Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh (all in Himachal Pradesh).

The bypolls were necessitated following vacancies due to the deaths of sitting MLAs and resignations from different parties. The counting of votes will be carried out on July 13 and the results will be declared subsequently.

Himachal Pradesh bypoll

In the Dehra segment of Kangra district, Kamlesh (53) of the Indian National Congress (INC), Hoshyar Singh (57) of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Independent candidates Sulekha Devi (59), Arun Ankesh Syal (34) and Advocate Sanjay Sharma (56) are in the fray.

According to the official, Ashish Sharma (37) of BJP, Dr Pushpinder Verma (48) of INC and Independent candidates Pradeep Kumar (58) and Nand Lal Sharma (64) are in the fray from Hamirpur Assembly Constituency, ANI reported.

For the Nalagarh segment, Hardeep Singh Bawa (44) of INC, KL Thakur (64) of BJP, Kishori Lal Sharma (46) of Swabhiman Party and Independent candidates Gurnam Singh (48), Harpreet Singh (36) and Vijay Singh (36) are in the fray.
The Hamirpur, Nalagarh, and Dehra assembly segments fell vacant after the Speaker accepted the resignation of three independent MLAs who resigned from the House and joined the BJP.

West Bengal bypoll

In Maniktala, BJP has fielded Kalyan Chaubey, who will be contesting against Trinamool Congress’ Supti Pande. In Ranaghat Dakshin, TMC has fielded Mukut Mani Adhikari against the BJP candidate. In Bagdah, TMC has pitted Madhuparna Thakur against the BJP’s candidate. In Raiganj, the BJP has fielded Krishna Kalyani as its candidate against the TMC candidate.

The BJP has fielded All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey from Maniktala, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin, Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagdah and Manas Kumar Ghosh from Raiganj.

The Maniktala bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting TMC MLA Sadhan Pandey in February 2022.

Punjab bypoll

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced Mohinder Bhagat as the party’s candidate for the bypolls on the Jalandhar West assembly seat while the Congress has announced Surinder Kaur as their party’s candidate from the constituency.

The seat fell vacant after AAP MLA Sheetal Angural’s resignation. Angural resigned on March 28. He has been announced as the BJP’s candidate from the same seat. Angural had stepped down as AAP MLA after joining BJP along with former AAP MP Sushil Kumar Rinku in March.

Bihar bypoll

The bypoll to Rupauli was necessitated following the resignation of sitting JD(U) MLA Bima Bharti, who switched over to the RJD and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls from Purnia.

The RJD has given a ticket to Bima Bharti, a five-time MLA from Rupauli, while the JD(U) has fielded Kaladhar Mandal.

Madhya Pradesh bypoll

A bypoll was necessitated in Amarwara (ST) Assembly seat after Kamlesh Shah, the Congress leader representing the constituency, crossed over to the BJP and resigned ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

While the BJP has fielded Kamlesh Shah, the Congress has nominated Dheeran Shah Invati in this tribal-dominated constituency. Tribal outfit Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), which bagged this seat once in 2003, has also entered the fray and can eat into the vote share of both parties.

Tamil Nadu bypoll

The bypoll to the Vikravandi seat was necessitated after the death of sitting DMK MLA N Pughazenthi in April this year. The seat will see a three-cornered contest between the ruling DMK, the Anbumani Ramdoss-led PMK, an NDA constituent, and the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK).

The DMK has fielded Anniyur Siva for the bypoll, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has nominated party vice president C Anbumani. The Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), a pro-Tamil party which gained recognition after the Lok Sabha elections, fielded Dr Abhinaya. All three candidates belong to the OBC Vanniyar community.

(With inputs from ANI)