After change of political alliances in the state of Bihar and Maharashtra, the assembly bypolls in the two states are set to be the first electoral test of the popularity of the respective state governments. The by-polls are scheduled to be held on November 3.

The BJP and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena are pitted against each other for the November 3 by-poll, which was necessitated following the death of sitting Sena MLA Ramesh Latke. This will be the first electoral test after Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led rebellion within the Shiv Sena to topple the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state, which was formed by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress and the Uddhav-led Shiv Sena.

Shinde succeeded Thackeray as the CM after getting support of 40 out of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs.

While Rutuja Latke, widow of Ramesh Latke is the candidate from the Uddhav Shiv Sena faction, the BJP, which is in alliance with the Shinde faction, has fielded Murji Patel for the Andheri East by-polls.

In Bihar, after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar came out of the BJP alliance to join hands with the former ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the assembly bypolls of Mokama and Gopalganj are the first electoral test for the CM.

Also Read: Andheri East bypoll: Uddhav Thackeray faction claims Rutuja Latke pressured to contest from Shinde group

While Gopalganj by-poll was required following the death of sitting BJP MLA Subhash Singh, the Mokama seat fell vacant after the disqualification of sitting RJD MLA Anant Singh after being convicted in a criminal case.

In Gopalganj, Kusum Devi, the widow of Subhash Singh is the BJP’s candidate, while Mohan Gupta from RJD and Indira Yadav from Bahujan Samaj Party will be contesting.

In Telangana, there will be the Munugode assembly bypoll, which was necessitated due to the resignation of Congress MLA K Rajagopal Reddy. Rajagopal Reddy will now contest from the BJP and is pitted against TRS candidate K Prabhakar Reddy and Congress nominee Palavai Sravanthi Reddy.

In Uttar Pradesh, the bypoll for the Gola Gokarannath assembly seat, which fell vacant following the death of sitting BJP MLA Arvind Giri, is a direct contest between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party. The elections will take place following the death of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The BSP and Congress have not fielded any candidate here.

In Haryana’s Adampur, the by-poll will see a contest between party-hoppers. The bypoll was necessitated due to the resignation of sitting Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi who is now with the BJP.

Also Read: Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh granted 40-day parole ahead of Adampur by-poll

In Odisha, the Dhamnagar Assembly seat is witnessing a triangular contest with Suryavanshi Suraj Sthitaprajna of the BJP, Abanti Das of the BJD and Harekrushna Sethi of the Congress in the fray. The seat fell vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Bishnu Sethi.

(With inputs from PTI)