Bypolls across 3 Lok Sabha, 30 assembly constituencies underway

Villagers in three panchayats in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district boycotted the bypoll to the Mandi Lok Sabha seat on Saturday in protest against the construction of a hydro-electric project, which they claimed will adversely affect the environment. The bypolls to the Mandi parliamentary constituency was held along with bye-elections to the Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly seats in the state.

Byelection to the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha constituency recorded 75.51 per cent turnout as the voting concluded at 7 pm on Saturday, Election Commission officials said.

The Jubbal-Kotkhai Assembly segment has registered the highest polling percentage of 65.88, while the lowest voter turnout of 47.17 per cent was recorded in the Mandi Lok Sabha segment till 4 pm on Saturday in the bypolls to three Assembly seats and one parliamentary constituency in Himachal Pradesh, an election official said.

Polling is underway in a peaceful manner in pleasant weather conditions, he added. The voting for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and the Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai Assembly seats began at a slow pace at 8 am, the official said, adding that it gained momentum gradually.
 

West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 59.68 per cent till 4.30 pm in the four Assembly constituencies during the by-elections on Saturday. According to the election commission, the Dinhata assembly seat recorded 61.52 per cent voter turnout while 66.07 per cent turnout is recorded from the Gosaba seat. Kharadaha seat witnessed a voter turnout of 52.37 per cent whereas the Santipur seat reported a 64.18 per cent turnout. The voting began at around 7 am and will continue till 6:30 pm on Saturday.

About 53.69 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 4 pm in the by-polls in two Assembly constituencies in Rajasthan on Saturday, according to the Election Commission (EC). According to EC, Dhariyawad and Vallabhnagar reported voter turnouts of 54.23 per cent and 53.14 per cent till 4 pm respectively.

Huzurabad assembly constituency in Telangana reported a total voter turnout of 61.66 per cent for the by-poll by 3:30 pm on Saturday, according to the Election Commission. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6:30 pm today.

Karnataka recorded a voter turnout of 56.78 per cent till 3.30 pm in the ongoing by-polls in Hangal and Sindgi assembly constituencies on Saturday, according to the Election Commission. Voting for by-polls in these two constituencies started today at 7 am and will continue till 7.30 pm. As per the Election Commission, Hangal and Sindgi assembly constituencies reported voter turnout of 62.72 per cent and 51.60 per cent respectively till 3.30 pm. The counting of votes and announcement of results will take place on November 2.

Till 1 pm on Saturday, Rajasthan recorded a voter turnout of 40.64 per cent in the ongoing by-polls to the Dhariyawad and Vallabhnagar assembly constituencies.

According to the Election Commission of India, Dhariyawad and Vallabhnagar have reported voter turnouts of 43.67 per cent and 37.56 per cent till 1 pm respectively.

An estimated 45 per cent of the 1,02,695 voters cast their votes till 1 pm in Saturday's by-elections to three Assembly seats in Meghalaya, Election Commission officials said.

On the instructions of the Election Commission, strict Covid-19 protocols, including the use of sanitiser, infrared thermometer and social distancing, were followed by the voters and election officials.

Around 29 per cent of votes were cast till 11 am on Saturday in four assembly seats in West Bengal where a peaceful by-poll is on amidst tight security.

Voting till 11 am 

Dinhata - 28.73 per cent 
Shantipur - 32.31 per cent
Khardah - 23.60 per cent 
Gosaba - 33.87 per cent.

"Polling is absolutely peaceful and there is not a single incident or any problem anywhere in the four constituencies. Polling is taking place very smoothly," an official of the Election Commission said.

The opposition Congress has sent a complaint to the election commission against a BJP MLA accusing him of violating the model code of conduct (MCC) and sought repolling at a Mandi polling station. Voting for Mandi Lok Sabha and three Vidhan Sabha seats of Fatehpur, Arki, and Jubbal-Kotkhai is underway in Himachal Pradesh.

In his complaint, Pranay Singh alleged that the BJP MLA stood inside the polling station while votes were being cast in a bid to influence the voters, which is a violation of the MCC guidelines.

Urging the commission to take immediate action, he sought repolling at the polling station.

The Congress leader has also sent a video to the commission in this regard and urged it to debar the MLA from taking part in the election process. 

Voter turnout till 1 pm in West Bengal Assembly bypolls

Dinhata- 47.83%
Santipur- 48.02%
Khardaha- 36.70% 
Gosaba (SC)-52.19%

21.79% voter turnout recorded till 11 am in Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur assembly seats

17 per cent voter turnout recorded till 9 am in Tuirial Assembly bypolls in Mizoram

Asoke Mandal, BJP candidate from Dinhata Assembly seat in Cooch Behar alleges that Trinamool Congress workers tried to stop him while he was going to cast his vote at 291 booth in Dinhata High School

Andhra Pradesh records 10.49 per cent voter turnout till 9 am in 124-Badvel (SC) Assembly constituency bypolls

Polling was underway amid tight security in the by-election to the Huzurabad Assembly constituency in Telangana on Saturday. Polling started at 7 am at 306 polling centres across the constituency in Karimnagar district. Election officials said the process will continue till 7 p.m. A little over 2.37 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes.

Telangana Chief Electoral OfficeR Shashank Goel said 20 companies of central forces in addition to the personnel from State police were deployed as part of the elaborate security arrangements.

Voting for the bypoll to the Tuirial Assembly constituency in Kolasib district bordering Assam began on Saturday morning amid heavy security and following requisite Covid-19 protocols. 

The ruling Mizo National Front has fielded K. Laldawngliana while Laltlanmawia of the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), Chalrosanga Ralte of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party's K. Laldinthara are also in the electoral fray.

The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting Legislator, Andrew H. Thangliana of the ZPM. The counting of votes in all seats will take place on November 2.

• Gobind Kanda, brother of Haryana Lokhit Party chief and legislator Gopal Kanda, joined the BJP recently and has been fielded by the BJP-JJP combine
• Pawan Beniwal, who had unsuccessfully contested the previous assembly poll against Abhay Chautala, recently switched over from the BJP to the Congress. He is in the fray as the candidate of the main opposition party
• Abhay Chautala, Beniwal and Kanda are being considered the key candidates

Voting for the bypoll to the Ellenabad assembly constituency in Haryana began on Saturday morning. Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. The bypoll was necessitated by INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala's resignation as MLA from the seat in January over the Centre's farm laws. Over 1.85 lakh voters will decide the fate of 19 candidates in the fray for the bypoll.

A total of 5,11,455 voters – 2,53,831 in Vallabhnagar and 2,57,624 in Dhariawad – will be able to exercise their franchise. Nine candidates are in the fray for the Vallabhnagar seat and seven for Dhariawad.

In Vallabhnagar, the ruling Congress party has given its ticket to Gajendra Shaktawat's wife, Preeti Shaktawat, while the BJP has fielded Himmat Singh Jhala

The Congress has fielded Nagraj Meena in Dhariawad against BJP candidate Khet Singh Meena

Voting for bypolls to the assembly constituencies of Vallabhnagar (Udaipur) and Dhariawad (Pratapgarh) in Rajasthan to decide the fate of 16 candidates began amid tight security arrangements on Saturday morning. The polling began at 7 am in both the constituencies and will go on till 6 pm. Counting of votes will take place on November 2.

The prominent contestants include Rupjyoti Kurmi, Sushanta Borgohain, Phanidhar Talukdar (all BJP); Luhit Konwar, Jowel Tudu, Sailendra Nath Das, Bhaskar Dahal, Monuranjan Konwar (all INC); Krishna Gogoi (CPI); Jiron Basumatary, Jolen Daimary (both UPPL); Dhruba Kumar Brahma Narzary (BPF); Jubbar Ali and Khairul Anam Khandakar (both AIUDF).

Bye-election in Gossaigaon and Tamulpur were necessitated due to death of the sitting MLAs, while the incumbents of Bhabanipur, Mariani and Thowra resigned from their seats to join the ruling BJP.

Polling for bye-elections to five Assam Assembly constituencies began at 7 am on Saturday amid heightened security and strict implementation of COVID-19 protocols. Some 7.96 lakh voters will decide the electoral fate of 31 contestants, the state election office said.

Voting started in 1,176 polling stations, including 285 in Gossaigaon, 213 in Bhabanipur, 322 in Tamulpur, 183 in Mariani and 173 in Thowra constituencies.

Polling will continue till 5 pm in the poll-bound constituencies.

• Sixteen candidates each are in the fray for by-polls to Khandwa Lok Sabha seat and Raigaon (SC) Assembly constituency
• Ten candidates are in the fray in Prithvipur and six in Jobat (ST) assembly constituencies
• In Khandwa, the BJP has fielded former district panchayat president Gyaneshwar Patil, denying the ticket to Harshvardhan Chauhan, the son of sitting MP Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan whose demise necessitated the bypoll. The Congress has fielded former MLA Rajnarayan Singh Purni
• In Jobat, Sulochana Rawat is the BJP's nominee against Congress candidate Mahesh Patel
• In Raigaon (SC) seat, the BJP has fielded Pratima Bagri, the daughter-in-law of MLA Jugal Kishore Bagri whose death necessitated the bypoll. She will face Congress' Kalpana Verma
• In Prithvipur, the BJP has fielded former Samajwadi Party leader Shishupal Singh against Congress's Nitendra Rathore, the son of former minister Brajendra Singh Rathore whose death necessitated the bypoll

Voting began Saturday morning for by-elections to one Lok Sabha and three Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh. As many as 48 candidates are in the fray in four constituencies where straight fights are expected between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress.

Voting started at 7 am and will end at 6 pm. Altogether 26,50,004 voters are eligible to exercise franchise during the bypolls.

Of 3,944 polling centres across four constituencies 865 are deemed as sensitive by the administration.

In Tarapur, which has so far sent only Yadavs or Koeris to the assembly, the RJD has fielded Arun Sah, a Vaishya, seeking to win over a community that has traditionally been with the BJP and its allies.

In Kusheshwar Asthan the RJD has fielded Ganesh Bharti, who belongs to the Musahar community which aspires to get its due among the Dalits.

In both seats the Congress and the Chirag Paswan-headed faction of Lok Janshakti Party could play a decisive role if the contest between JD(U) and RJD turns out to be a close one.

Polling is underway for Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats in Bihar where by-elections have been necessitated by the deaths of sitting MLAs, both belonging to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U). Altogether 17 candidates are in the fray for the two seats, eight in Tarapur and nine in Kusheshwar Asthan. The JD(U)’s bid to retain these seats is being challenged by the RJD headed by Kumar’s arch rival Lalu Prasad.

The RJD, which boasts of a formidable support base in the form of the Muslim-Yaadav (MY) combination, has made the battle harder for JD(U) with its deft play of the caste card in both seats.

Voting began at 7 AM on Saturday for by-polls to the four assembly constituencies of Dinhata in Cooch Behar, Shantipur in Nadia, Khardah in North 24 Parganas and Gosaba in South 24 Parganas districts.

• In Dinhata, TMC's heavyweight north Bengal leader Udayan Guha is fighting to reclaim the seat which BJP had snatched from him by a whisker in polls held last April
• State minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who resigned from Bhabanipur to facilitate Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's election to the Assembly, is fighting from Khardah, where TMC's Kajal Sinha died due to COVID-19, just days after polls to the seat were held

The bypoll to Shantipur was necessitated by the resignation of BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar, who too resigned from the assembly seat in favour of retaining his Lok Sabha membership.

Bypoll to the Gosaba seat in Sunderbans was also necessitated by the death of TMC's Jayanta Naskar, who too was suffering from Covid.