Bypolls 2023: Voting in 7 assembly seats in 6 states concludes

An average voter turnout of 76 per cent was recorded till 3 pm of polling in the by-elections to Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district on Tuesday, an official said. Voting began at 7 am in 59 booths in Dhanpur assembly constituency and 51 in Boxanagar, and was scheduled to continue till 4 pm. Police said six persons were injured when they were allegedly attacked by some villagers at Mohanbhog in Dhanpur Assembly constituency.

More than 49 per cent of the electorate in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi assembly constituency cast their votes till 5 pm for the bypoll on Tuesday, the first electoral showdown in the state after the formation of the opposition INDIA bloc. Officials said voting being held at 455 polling stations was supposed to conclude at 6 pm but voters present at the polling centres till 6 pm were allowed to cast their votes.

An average voter turnout of 76 per cent was recorded till 3 pm of polling in the by-elections to Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district on Tuesday, an official said.

Over 38 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm in the Bageshwar Assembly by-election in Uttarakhand which began at 7 am on Tuesday. Voting is slated to go on till 5 pm. There are approximately 1. 2 lakh voters in the constituency.

60.61 per cent voter turnout recorded till 1 pm in two assembly seats-  Dhanpur and Boxanagar. 

33.52% voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm in the Ghoshi Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh. 

As polling for the Puthuppally assembly is underway, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy -- whose death necessitated the bypoll -- still figured among the list of over 1.76 lakh voters in the constituency. Chandy's name was figured at serial 647 in the voters' list at the Georgian Public School (CBSE) polling booth in Puthuppally (North Portion).

Voting for the by-election in the Puthuppally Assembly constituency in the Kottayam district continued briskly with people lining up early at booths. Within the first four hours of polling, there was a turnout of 26.6 per cent as evidenced by the long queues outside many of the total 182 polling stations in the constituency. Till 11 am, 46,928 voters -- 24,682 men and 22,246 women -- had cast their votes, the district administration said. There are over 1.76 lakh registered voters in the constituency. 

A voter turnout of 21.5 per cent was recorded till am in Ghosi Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party has alleged misuse of official machinery and has written to the Election Commission on the matter. It was alleged that Muslim voters were being prevented from voting in some places.

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 a.m. 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," the Election Commission official said. 

An average voter turnout of 18.71 per cent was recorded in the first two hours of polling on Tuesday in the by-elections to Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district, an EC official said. Polling began at 7 am in 59 booths in Dhanpur assembly constituency and 51 in Boxanagar, and is scheduled to continue till 4 pm. 

11.40 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am in the Dumri assembly by-election in Jharkhand. The polling is underway peacefully across the constituency, and the turnout is recorded at 11.40 per cent in the first two hours of voting, an official said.

UDF’s Congress candidate Chandy Oommen cast his vote for the Puthuppally bypolls.Visuals from LP Government school, booth number 10.

At the Ghosi Assembly seat, Samajwadi Party candidate Sudhakar Singh alleged that the police are checking Aadhar cards of voters. "Who has given them (police) authority to check Aadhar cards of voters? Our party workers are being mistreated" he alleged. 

There are 4,30000 voters in the Ghosi constituency and a total of 10 candidates are in the fray. Voting is underway at 455 booths today. 

Break-up of voters 

• Muslim- 80,000
• Dalit- 60,000
• Chauhan - 40,000
• Mallah - 30,000
• Yadav - 40,000
• Rajbhar - 35,000
• Bhumihar - 35,000
• Kshatriya - 40,000
• Brahmin - 20,000
• Baniya - 15,000
• Maurya - 15,000
• Kurmi - 10,000

(Report: Ruchi) 

Voting for the by-election to Dhupguri Assembly constituency in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district is underway amid tight security arrangements. Visuals from a polling booth in Dhupguri. 

Voting for the bypolls to Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district is underway, amid heavy deployment of security personnel, an official said. Polling began at 7 am in 59 booths in Dhanpur assembly constituency and 51 in Boxanagar, and is scheduled to continue till 4 pm.

Jharkhand Minister and Dumri bypoll candidate Baby Devi cast her vote and said she has full support from the people of the constituency. "I have full support from the people here. I have cast my vote. Anything can only be said after 8th September, when the results are announced..."

Voting for the Ghosi assembly bypoll, the first electoral showdown in Uttar Pradesh after the formation of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, has begun. The voting is being held at 455 polling stations and will conclude at 6 pm, the office of the state chief electoral officer said.

Voting for the bypoll to the Bageshwar Assembly seat in Uttarakhand has begun. The bypoll is important as its verdict will reflect the mood of voters in Uttarakhand ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP won all the five Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2014 and 2019 general elections.

The voting for Dumri Assembly bypolls has begun in Jharkhand. The visuals showed people casting their votes at booth no. 347 in the constituency. 

The voting for Puthupally Assembly bypolls has begun. A total of 182 booths have been set up in the constituency for the people to cast their votes.

The voting has begun at seven Assembly seats in six states. 

The seat in Jharkhand Dumri was vacated after the death of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA Jagarnath Mahto. The party is fielding Mahto's wife Bebi Devi in the bypolls representing I.N.D.I.A bloc against NDA’s Yashoda Devi and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Abdul Rizvi. The ruling party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, won the seat earlier in the 2019 Assembly polls.

Congress veteran Oommen Chandy's demise necessitated the bypolls in Kerala’s Puthuppally seat. The Congress-led United Democratic Alliance (UDF) has fielded Oommen Chandy’s son Chandy Oommen while the ruling party CPI(M) has fielded Jaick C Thomas from this constituency. The Congress and the ruling Left will take on each other at the Puthuppally bypoll, with the Opposition party in the state banking on "anti-incumbency" and the late Chandy's legacy.

In Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar seat, Congress, SP and BJP will feature a contest against each other. The by-election was prompted by the death of BJP MLA Chandan Ram Dass. BJP has fielded Dass’s wife Parwati against Congress’ Basant Kumar and SP’s Bhagawati Prasad. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and other top BJP leaders campaigned for Das. Congress heavyweights like Harish Rawat, PCC president Karan Mahara and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Yashpal Arya had also been camping in Bageshwar for the past few days to garner support for party candidate Basant Kumar.

In Tripura’s Dhanpur, BJP's Pratima Bhoumik resigned to retain her Lok Sabha seat leaving the assembly vacant. BJP is fielding Bhoumik's brother, Bindu Debnath against Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPI-M) candidate Kaushik Chanda in Dhanpur for the bypolls. CPI(M) and BJP will contest against each other in Tripura’s Boxanagar seat which was left vacant by the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque. In Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district, Chief Minister Manik Saha led the party's campaign from the front.

The Dhupguri Assembly seat in West Bengal was vacated after the death of BJP’s Bishnu Pada Ray. BJP is fielding Tapasi Roy against Trinamool Congress candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy and the CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy. This Assembly seat is witnessing a three-cornered contest among the TMC, BJP and the Congress-supported CPI(M). While the TMC had won the seat in 2016, it was snatched by the BJP in 2021.

In Uttar Pradesh, Ghosi seat fell vacant after the resignation of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA and OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan, who rejoined the BJP. While the ruling BJP-led NDA has fielded Chauhan, Samajwadi Party candidate Sudhakar Singh has got the support of the Congress and Left parties. Chauhan was a minister in the previous BJP government headed by Yogi Adityanath. He had resigned from the Council of Ministers on January 12, 2022 and switched to the SP.