Bypolls 2023: Voting underway in 6 states in first big test for INDIA bloc

Polling for by-elections to seven Assembly seats across six states began at 7 am on Tuesday (September 5).

The seats are Dumri in Jharkhand, Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, and Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura.

Polling is scheduled to continue till 4 pm, 5 pm, or 6 pm, depending on the state. Votes will be counted on September 8.

Puthupally assembly constituency in

Voting for the by-election in the Puthuppally assembly constituency in Kerala's Kottayam district continued briskly with men, women and youngsters lining up early at the booths. There has been a turnout of 26.6 per cent in this constituency within a few hours, as many people flocked to vote at the 182 polling stations in the constituency.

Till 11 am, 46,928 voters, 24,682 men and 22,246 women, had cast their votes, said the district administration said. There are over 1.76 lakh registered voters in the constituency.

In Kerala, the ruling CPI(M) and the Opposition Congress are locked in a fierce battle for the Puthuppally assembly seat in Kottayam district. The seat fell vacant after the demise of Congress stalwart and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Chandy represented the constituency in Kottayam district for more than five decades without any break until his demise on July 18 this year.

The Congress-led Opposition UDF has fielded Oommen Chandy’s son, Chandy Oommen, which analysts view as an apparent strategy to capitalise on the sympathy wave following the former CM’s death.

The ruling Left Front once again decided to go with DYFI leader Jaick C Thomas, who had unsuccessfully contested the segment in 2016 and 2021 against the late Chandy. The BJP has fielded its Kottayam district president, G Lijinlal.

Jharkhand

In Jharkhand’s Dumri, voting is underway in 373 polling stations, of which around 200 have been identified as Maoist-affected booths, said an election official.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA and former education minister Jagarnath Mahto. He had been representing the seat since 2004.

Over 2.98 lakh voters, including 1.44 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election and will decide the electoral fate of six candidates, including three independents.

The JMM has fielded Mahto’s wife Bebi Devi as the nominee of the Opposition bloc INDIA, while the AJSU party has nominated Yashoda Devi as the NDA candidate. The AIMIM has also fielded Md Abdul Mobin Rizvi.

Uttarakhand

A voters' turnout of 26 per cent was recorded till 11 am in the bypoll in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar.

The bypoll to the Bageshwar seat was necessitated by the death of sitting BJP MLA and Cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April. He had won the seat in four consecutive polls since 2007.

The BJP has fielded Das’s widow Parvati and is hoping to capitalise on sympathy votes to retain the seat.

There are four other candidates in the fray — Congress’s Basant Kumar, Samajwadi Party’s Bhagvati Prasad, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal’s Arjun Dev, and Uttarakhand Parivartan Party’s Bhagwat Kohli.

However, the direct contest is likely to be between the BJP and the Congress.

Uttar Pradesh

Voting for the Ghosi assembly bypoll is being held at 455 polling stations. The bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of Dara Singh Chauhan, who had won the seat in the 2022 UP Assembly polls, from the Samajwadi Party (SP) in July.

The OBC leader returned to the BJP and was picked by the party to contest the Ghosi bypoll.

In the 2022 UP Assembly elections, Chauhan had defeated BJP candidate Vijay Kumar Rajbhar by a margin of 22,216 votes. This time, he is pitted against the SP’s Sudhakar Singh.

Of the nearly 4.30 lakh voters in Ghosi, 90,000 are Muslims, 60,000 Dalits, 45,000 Bhumihars, 16,000 Rajputs, and 6,000 Brahmins, according to estimates.

A total of 10 candidates are in the fray. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has not fielded any candidate in the bypoll.

West Bengal

Over 17 per cent voting was recorded in the by-election to Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district in the first two hours of polling, an official said. Polling began, amid tight security, at 7 am across 260 booths in the constituency, and the poll percentage stood at 17.25 till 9 am, he said. "The polling has been peaceful so far. No untoward incident has been reported," said the election commission official.

For the by-election to Dhupguri, over 2.6 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. Polling is taking place in 260 booths, of which 71 have been identified as sensitive, a poll official said.

The bypoll to the seat was necessitated by the death of its sitting BJP MLA, Bishu Pada Ray, earlier this year. Dhupguri, a scheduled caste-reserved seat, has nearly 50 per cent Rajbanshi people and 15 per cent minority population.

CPI(M)’s Ishwar Chandra Roy is contesting as the candidate of the Congress-Left alliance, while the ruling TMC has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy, a teacher by profession. The BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan who died fighting terrorists in Kashmir a few years back.

The BJP had snatched the constituency from the TMC in the 2021 assembly polls.

The bypoll to the seat was necessitated by the death of its sitting BJP MLA, Bishu Pada Ray, earlier this year. Dhupguri, a scheduled caste-reserved seat, has nearly 50 per cent Rajbanshi people and 15 per cent minority population.

CPI(M)’s Ishwar Chandra Roy is contesting as the candidate of the Congress-Left alliance, while the ruling TMC has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy, a teacher by profession. The BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan who died fighting terrorists in Kashmir a few years back.

The BJP had snatched the constituency from the TMC in the 2021 assembly polls.

Tripura

In Tripura, by-elections are being held to Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Sepahijala district. Polling is being done at 59 booths in Dhanpur constituency and 51 in Boxanagar.

The by-election to Boxanagar was necessitated by the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque, while Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik’s resignation as the MLA of Dhanpur necessitated the by-election to that seat.

BJP’s Tafajjal Hussain is contesting against CPI(M) nominee Mizan Hussain in Boxanagar. The segment has 66 per cent minority voters out of a total 43,087 electors.

The Dhanpur constituency, once considered a stronghold of the Left, will witness a fight between BJP’s Bindu Debnath and Kaushik Debnath of CPI(M). There are 50,346 eligible voters.

The BJP won the seat for the first time in the Assembly poll held seven months ago.

The Congress and the Tripra Motha did not field their candidates in the two seats for the bypolls.