Assembly bypolls highlights: Polling concludes; sporadic violence reported in Uttarakhand, West Bengal

More than 57% of over three lakh voters exercised their franchise in bypoll to Rupauli Assembly seat in Bihar, where a mob attacked a police party leaving two officials injured.

Polling for the bypoll to Vikravandi Assembly constituency concluded with 77.73% voters exercising their franchise as of 5 p.m., according to data shared by the Election Commission.

A voter turnout between 63% and 75% was recorded in the bypolls in three Assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh, according to data shared by the State election department till 5 p.m. The Nalagarh Assembly constituency recorded the highest polling of 75.22%, followed by Hamirpur (65.78%) and Dehra (63.89%), it stated.

PTI

More than 51% of over three lakh electors exercised their franchise till 5 p.m. in the bypoll to the Rupauli Assembly seat in Bihar, an official said.

A voter turnout of 62.71% was recorded till 5 p.m. in the bypolls to four Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, an Election Commission official said.

Among the constituencies, Raiganj witnessed the highest turnout at 67.12%, followed by Ranaghat Dakshin at 65.37%, Bagdah at 65.15% and Maniktala at 51.39%.

According to Election Commission officials, turnout may increase further as queues were observed outside polling booths.

PTI

As of 5 p.m., 77.73% of voters had cast their vote in the bypoll to Vikravandi Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu, the latest figures declared by the Election Commission said.

Brisk polling was witnessed in the bypoll to Vikravandi Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu with voters queuing up in large numbers at polling stations to exercise their franchise since morning. As of 3 p.m., 64.44% of voters had cast their vote, the latest figures declared by the Election Commission said.

PTI

Moderate to brisk polling was recorded in 13 Assembly constituencies across seven States where bypolls were underway amid sporadic incidents of violence in Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The electoral exercise, the first since the Lok Sabha polls, will decide the fate of many veterans and some debutantes, including Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur.

Barring Uttarakhand and West Bengal, polling has been peaceful in the rest of the States so far.

PTI

More than 42% of over three lakh electors exercised their franchise till 3 p.m. in the bypoll to the Rupauli Assembly seat in Bihar, an official said.

The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of sitting MLA Bima Bharti, who won the seat for JD(U) several times in the past but quit the party to contest the Lok Sabha elections on an RJD ticket.

Following her loss in the parliamentary election, she is contesting in the bypoll as an RJD candidate.

PTI

A voter turnout of 42.60% was recorded till 3 p.m. in the Jalandhar West Assembly bypoll in Punjab.

The seat is witnessing a multi-cornered contest with major political parties such as the ruling AAP, the Congress and the BJP vying to outdo each other.

Votes will be counted on July 13. Fifteen candidates are in the fray in the by-election.

PTI

Four people were injured in a clash between supporters of rival parties at a polling booth in Uttarkhand’s Manglaur Assembly constituency where bypolls were underway, according to police. Polling was also underway in the State’s Badrinath Assembly constituency. By 3 p.m., a voter turnout of 56.21% was recorded in Manglaur and 40.50% in Badrinath.

PTI

A voter turnout of 50.43% was recorded till 3 p.m. on July 10 in the bypolls to four Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, an Election Commission official said.

Among the constituencies, Raiganj registered the highest turnout of 53.89% followed by Ranaghat Dakshin (SC) 52.41%, Bagdah (SC) 50.81% and Maniktala at 43.78%.

Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from Bagdah and Ranaghat Dakshin as the BJP accused TMC activists of assaulting its booth agents and stopping its candidates from visiting some polling stations.

PTI

More than 42% of over three lakh electors exercised their franchise till 3 p.m. on Wednesday in the bypoll to the Rupauli assembly seat in Bihar, an official said.

Polling started at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m.

The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of sitting MLA Bima Bharti, who won the seat for JD(U) several times in the past but quit the party to contest the Lok Sabha elections on an RJD ticket.

Following her loss in the parliamentary election, she is contesting in the bypoll as an RJD candidate.

“A voter turnout of 42.19% was recorded till 3 p.m.,” an Election Official said. - PTI

66.58% polling has been recorded until 3 p.m. in Amarwara Assembly byelection in Madhya Pradesh, as per the Election Commission data.

A voter turnout of 39.36% was recorded till 1 p.m. in the bypoll to Rupauli Assembly seat in Bihar on Wednesday, an official said.

Polling, which started at 7 a.m., will continue until 6 p.m.

Over three lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to determine the fate of 11 candidates.

The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of sitting MLA Bima Bharti, who won the seat for JD(U) several times in the past, but quit the party to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a RJD ticket. Following her loss in the parliamentary election, she contested in the bypoll as an RJD candidate. - PTI

A voter turnout of 26.99% was recorded in Manglaur assembly bypoll and 21.20% in Badrinath assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand till 11 a.m., officials said.

Voting began at 8 a.m. and will go on till 6 p.m., they said.

The Manglaur bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting BSP MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari in October last year. The Badrinath seat fell vacant after sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari resigned and switched to the BJP in March this year.

In Manglaur assembly constituency in Haridwar district, some people were injured as workers of two political parties clashed with each other at a polling booth.

Roorkee Civil Line Kotwali in-charge R K Saklani told PTI that a report was received about the clash between workers of two parties at booth number 53-54 in Libbarheri in Manglaur.

Some people were injured in the clash and they have been sent to the hospital, he said.

Some reports claimed there was firing at the booth. However, police denied the reports.

Purported videos of the clash on social media showed Congress candidate Qazi Nizamuddin taking a man in bloodstained clothes to the hospital. He accused the BJP of throttling democracy by sowing seeds of hatred.

Haridwar district magistrate and senior superintendent of police have rushed to the spot. _ PTI

A woman sustained cut injuries in the neck after she was slashed with a knife, allegedly by her former husband, in a polling booth in T. Kosapalayam in Vikravandi Assembly constituency on Wednesday.

Further investigations are on.

The authorities have set up web-casting facilities in all 276 booths in the Assembly segment to monitor the proceedings from a control room.

A voter turnout of 24.25 per cent was recorded till 11 am in the bypolls to four Assembly constituencies of West Bengal on Wednesday, an Election Commission official said.

Among the constituencies, Ranaghat Dakshin (SC) saw the highest turnout with 26.32 per cent, followed by Raiganj at 25.98 per cent, Bagdah (SC) at 22.63 per cent and Maniktala at 21.89 per cent. - PTI

Three of the four constituencies where the byelections are underway - Maniktala in Kolkata, Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah in North 24 Parganas - are in the southern part of the state.

The fourth, Raiganj, is in north Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district.

There are around 10 lakh voters across the four assembly segments. - PTI

Brisk polling was witnessed in the bypoll to Vikravandi assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday with 29.97% voters exercising their franchise till 11 am, according to official data.

A voter turnout of 10.85 per cent was registered in the bypolls to four Assembly constituencies of West Bengal till 9 am on Wednesday, an Election Commission official said.

Among the constituencies, Raiganj saw the highest turnout with 12.01 per cent, followed by Ranaghat Dakshin at 11.58 per cent, Bagdah at 10.61 per cent, and Maniktala at 9.01 per cent. - PTI

An average voter turnout of 15.96 per cent has been recorded today during the by-elections for three seats in Himachal Pradesh, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).Hamirpur recorded a turnout of 15.71 per cent, Nalagarh recorded a turnout of 16.48 per cent and Dehra recorded a turnout of 15.70 per cent. 

The by-elections for Harmipur, Dehra and Nalagarh assembly elections are all being held today. - ANI

A voter turnout of 10.30 per cent was recorded till 9 am in the Jalandhar West assembly bypoll in Punjab on Wednesday.

Amid tight security arrangements, polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, officials said. Votes will be counted on July 13.

A voter turnout of 10.30 per cent was recorded till 9 am, an official said. - PTI

Ranaghat Dakshin BJP candidate Manoj Kumar Biswas on Wednesday accused the ruling TMC of creating a chaotic situation to prevent voters from exercising their franchise freely. West Bengal’s Ranaghat Dakshin, along with Raiganj, Bagda, and Maniktala in the state, went to the polls in the by-polls on Wednesday.”Ranaghat Dakshin is BJP’s area. It has been proven again and again. There is tremendous enthusiasm among the voters. I am confident that in this election, voters will again make us win but the fact is that TMC, supported by the administration with criminal personnel, is trying to create a chaotic situation so that no voter comes to the voting centre,” Mr. Biswas said. 

They are threatening our voters and workers.A free and fair election is not possible in West Bengal because the government does not want it,” he added. - ANI

The Election Commission has released the voter turnout figures till 9 am in Rupauli Assembly constituency as 9.23%. - Amarnath Tewary

Voting for the Jalandhar West assembly bypoll is underway in Punjab.

Amid tight security arrangements, polling began at 7 am on Wednesday and will continue till 6 pm, officials said. Votes will be counted on July 13.

The Jalandhar West constituency is witnessing a multi-cornered contest with major political outfits like AAP, Congress and BJP vying to outdo each other.

Fifteen candidates are in the fray for the by-election.

There are a total of 1,71,963 eligible voters -- 89,629 males, 82,326 females and eight third gender voters. - PTI

Bypolls for three assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh were underway on Wednesday to determine the fate of 13 candidates, including Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife.

A large number of people made a beeline to the polling centres as voting started at 7 am at 315 polling stations in the three assembly segments of Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh. A total of 2,59,340 people are eligible to cast their vote.

The seats fell vacant after the three independent legislators Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur) and K L Thakur (Nalagarh), who had voted in favour of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls held on February 27, resigned from the House on March 22. - PTI

The PMK on Monday, July 8, 2024, submitted a complaint to Vikravandi Returning Officer M. Chandrasekhar, alleging distribution of cash to voters by the ruling DMK.

PMK spokesperson K. Balu told presspersons that the DMK had distributing cash to voters for the past few days in the constituency, where a bypoll is scheduled to take place on July 10. Though complaints were given to the Returning Officer on bribing of voters a week ago, no action has been taken against so far. This is very unfortunate, he said. Read more

According to Election Commission, the voter turnout till 9 am in Vikravandi Assembly segment is 12.94%. 

According to reports, voters started assembling at the booth from early morning.

The bypoll in Rupauli assembly constituency of Purnea district is on. A total of 11 candidates, including Opposition INDIA alliance candidate ( Bima Bharti of Rashtriya Janata Dal) and ruling NDA candidate Kaladhar Mandal of Janata Dal- United ) are in the fray. Independent MP from Punrnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has announced to support INDIA alliance candidate Bima Bharti . Ms Bharti had contested against Pappu Yadav in Lok Sabha poll from Purnea constituency in last general election on RJD ticket.

Independent candidate Shankar Singh has made the Rupauli bypoll a triangular contest. - Amarnath Tewary

Unless the ECI sends out a strong message that there will be no tolerance of bribery, there will not be much change on the ground. Also, the electorate should not be swayed by either money or freebies. In this regard, civil society organisations too have a crucial role to play. Read the full editorial

Voting for bypolls to Manglaur and Badrinath assembly constituencies is underway in Uttarakhand.

Polling began at 8 am on Wednesday and will go on till 6 pm, election officials here said.

The Manglaur bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting BSP MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari in October last year. The Badrinath seat fell vacant after sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari resigned and switched to the BJP in March this year.

The BSP has fielded Ansari’s son Ubedur Rehman against Congress nominee Qazi Nizamuddin in Manglaur. Gujjar leader and BJP nominee Kartar Singh Bhadana is also in the fray from the Muslim and Dalit-dominated constituency which has been held either by the BSP or the Congress in the past. In Badrinath, there is a direct contest between BJP’s Rajendra Bhandari and Congress newcomer Lakhpat Singh Butola.

The other two candidates in the fray in Badrinath are former CRPF officer Himmat Singh of the Sainik Samaj Party and Naval Khali, a journalist who is contesting as an Independent candidate. - PTI

A month after the Lok Sabha election, the Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are set for an electoral face off in the bypolls to four Assembly seats in West Bengal, scheduled for July 10.

Three of the four constituencies going to the polls — Maniktala in Kolkata, Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah in North 24 Parganas — are located in south Bengal, while Raiganj is ]in north Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district.

While Trinamool emerged victorious in Maniktala in 2021, the seat fell vacant after the death of former Minister Sadhan Pandey in February 2022. BJP candidates bagged the other three seats in 2021 but later, MLAs Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj, Biswajit Das from Bagdah and Mukut Mani Adhikari from Ranaghat Dakshin shifted their allegiance to the Trinamool Congress.

The Bagdah and Ranaghat Dakshin seats fell vacant after the MLAs resigned from their post to contest the Lok Sabha election. Mr. Kalyani, who lost to BJP’s Kartik Chandra Paul in the Lok Sabha polls, will be contesting from Raiganj Assembly constituency. Mr. Adhikari, who lost the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat to BJP’s Jagannath Sarkar, will be contesting from the Ranaghat Dakshin Assembly constituency. Read more

Malfunctioning of EVMs was reported in Mambalapattu, Ottan Kaaduvetti and Karungalipattu for the bypoll to Vikravandi seat. The malfunction delayed voting by 30 minutes.

-S. Prasad

DMK candidate Anniyur Siva has cast his vote at a polling booth in Anniyur near Vikravandi.

The DMK campaign mainly centred on the implementation of welfare schemes over the last three years while the PMK focused on the failures of the DMK on the law and order front, especially the recent hooch tragedy, and its delay in providing 10.5 % internal reservation for Vanniyars and conducting a caste-wise census in the State.

Ahead of the bypolls in West Bengal, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh claimed that BJP candidate Kalyan Choubey tried to bribe him to support his campaign in the assembly bypolls.

Mr. Ghosh claimed that Mr. Choubey offered to accommodate him at the State or national level in exchange for his support.

Notably, Kalyan Choubey is BJP candidate from Maniktala Assembly bypolls.

“The campaign has ended, and BJP candidate (of Maniktala assembly) Kalyan Choubey has understood that he is going to lose the elections. On July 7, at 11:30 at night, he asked me to support him knowing fully well that I am the convenor of the core committee, constituted by the CM for the Maniktala by-election. He said that he would try to accommodate me at the State or national level. In a way, he was trying to bribe me. The offer that he has given is wrong,” Mr. Ghosh said on Tuesday.

Mr. Choubey, however, denied the allegations, stating that Mr. Ghosh had previously expressed interest in joining the BJP and that their conversation was a courtesy call.

-ANI

Polling began for the bypoll to the Rupauli assembly seat in Bihar on Wednesday, amid tight security arrangements, an official said.

The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

More than three lakh voters will decide the electoral fate of 11 candidates.

-PTI

Polling began for by-elections in four assembly seats in West Bengal on Wednesday, amid heavy deployment of security forces, an official said.

Voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

Three of the four constituencies - Maniktala in Kolkata, Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah in North 24 Parganas - are in the southern part of the State. The fourth, Raiganj, is in north Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district.

-PTI