Bypoll Election Results 2023: BJP retains Uttarakhand, Congress wins in Kerala, TMC in Bengal

The Samajwadi Party candidate Sudhakar Singh has won Ghosi seat by-poll by a margin of 42,759 votes, defeating BJP's Dara Singh Chauhan.

As the Samajwadi Party candidate leads in the Ghosi by-election, party MP Ram Gopal Yadav says, "The big victory of the Samajwadi Party in Ghosi depicts the blessings of the people of Ghosi. I thank the voters... I also would like to thank the administration for conducting fair elections... the results clearly indicate towards 2024 Lok Sabha elections."

North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor and senior BJP leader, Himanta Biswa Sarma Friday expressed his gratitude to the voters of Tripura for the wins by BJP candidates in by-election to two assembly seats. He congratulated BJP candidates for winning Boxanagar seat by over 30,000 votes and Dhanpur seat by 18,871 votes. ''My gratitude to Tripura voters for their continued faith in the policies of Hon PM Shri @narendramodi Ji and @BJP4India'', the Assam chief minister posted on 'X'.

JMM candidate Bebi Devi won the Dumri bypolls in Jharkhand's Giridih district on Friday by defeating AJSU Party nominee Yashoda Devi by 17,153 votes, an election official said. The JMM candidate, who is also the INDIA bloc nominee, got about 1,00,317 votes while NDA candidate Yashoda Devi bagged 83,164 votes after 24 rounds of counting votes, the official said. Giridih deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Naman Priyesh Lakra told PTI, "The counting of votes passed off peacefully. JMM's Bebi Devi won the election with a margin of 17,153 votes." According to political experts, AIMIM votes shifted to JMM that helped victory of its candidate.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi defeats All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi by 17,153 votes in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency.

Bebi Devi received 1,00,317 votes against Tapasi Roy's 83,164 votes.

As Samajwadi Party candidate leads in Ghosi by-election, SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav says, "Akhilesh Yadav zindabad, Samajwadi Party zindabad".

On Tripura by-poll results, Tripura CM Manik Saha said, "...We never thought we would get this result... This win is against the dividing policy... We saw appeasement politics... The trend shows that people have trust in the BJP... People have shown trust in PM's 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' slogan... The victory shows a direction that we can win even in the minority areas... Everyone's effort is behind this victory... This shows that the people have accepted the double-engine government... Tripura never saw peaceful elections... After our government came in 2018, these were the first elections... The people of Tripura have shown what democracy is... We have won democratically..."

Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sudhakar Singh takes a massive lead of 30,626 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi constituency against BJP's Dara Singh Chauhan.

After 24 rounds of counting, Sudhakar received 93,196 votes against Chauhan's 62,570 votes.

Samajwadi Party (SP) workers celebrate in Lucknow as party's candidate leads in Ghosi by-election.

Samajwadi Party (SP) won Ghosi Vidhan Sabha last time and it will win this time as well, I've been saying this for so long... In the poll results of 11 rounds so far, SP candidate Sudhakar Singh is leading with more than 15,000 votes. The counting for many rounds is left as of now... Once the counting of votes ends, the SP candidate will win with a difference of 40,000 votes, it has been speculated, said SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya.

JMM's Bebi Devi has won the by-election in Jharkhand's Dumri assembly seat by over 17,000 votes, defeating AJSU's candidate Yashoda Devi.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi leads in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency against All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi by 10,505 votes.

After 20 rounds of counting, Bebi Devi received 82,682 votes against Yashoda Devi's 72,177 votes.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Abdul Mobin Rizvi is at the third spot with 3,335 votes.

Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sudhakar Singh has taken a massive lead of 25,133 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi constituency against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dara Singh Chauhan.

After 19 rounds of counting, Sudhakar received 74,946 votes against Chauhan's 49,813 votes.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy won in West Bengal's Dhupguri constituency against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Tapasi Roy. 

As per officials, TMC wrested Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district from BJP in bypoll. 

Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy leads in West Bengal's Dhupguri constituency against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Tapasi Roy by 3,866 votes. After eight rounds of counting, Nirmal Chandra Roy received 83,545 votes against Tapasi Roy's 79,679 votes.

Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sudhakar Singh takes massive lead of 22,132 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi constituency against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dara Singh Chauhan. After 16 rounds of counting, Sudhakar received 63,050 votes against Chauhan's 40,918 votes.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi now leads in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency against All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi by 2,447 votes. After 16 rounds of counting, Bebi Devi received 61,572 votes against Yashoda Devi's 59,125 votes. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Abdul Mobin Rizvi is at third spot with 2,834 votes.

The BJP hailed its victory in the bypolls to the Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly seats in Tripura on Friday and said it is the end of the road for the communists in the northeastern state, which was once known as a Left bastion. According to the Election Commission (EC), Tafajjal Hossain of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Boxanagar seat, which has around 66 per cent minority voters, by a margin of 30,237 votes. Hossain got 34,146 votes while Mizan Hossain of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) bagged 3,909 votes. BJP's Bindu Debnath won the Dhanpur seat, which has a significant tribal population, by a margin of 18,871 votes. Debnath got 30,017 votes while Kaushik Chanda of the CPI(M) got 11,146 votes. Both the seats in Sepahijala district witnessed a one-on-one contest between the ruling BJP and the CPI(M) as the two other opposition parties- Tipra Motha and Congress- had not fielded candidates.

Congress candidate Chandy Oommen wins Kerala's Puthuppally constituency in bypoll after defeating Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Jaick C Thomas by 37,719 votes. While the former CM's son received 80,144 votes, CPM's Jaick C Thomas and BJP's Ligin Lal secured the second and third positions with 42,425 and 6,558 votes respectively.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Parwati Dass wins Uttarakhand's Bageshwar constituency in bypoll after defeating Congress candidate Basant Kumar.

Trinamool Congress candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy leads in West Bengal's Dhupguri constituency against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Tapasi Roy by 2,931 votes. After seven rounds of counting, Nirmal Chandra Roy received 72,440 votes against Tapasi Roy's 69,509 votes.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Parwati Dass leads in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar constituency against Congress candidate Basant Kumar by 2,726 votes. After thirteen rounds of counting, Dass received 31,411 votes against Basant Kumar's 28,685 votes.

All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi leads in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi by 3,044 votes. After thirteen rounds of counting, Yashoda Devi received 49,441 votes against Bebi Devi's 46,397 votes. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Abdul Mobin Rizvi is at third spot with 2,327 votes.

Congress candidate Chandy Oommen wins Kerala's Puthuppally constituency in bypoll after defeating Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Jaick C Thomas by 36,667 votes. While the former CM's son received 78,649 votes, CPM's Jaick C Thomas and BJP's Ligin Lal secured the second and third positions with 41,982 and 6,486 votes respectively.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Parwati Dass is still leading in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar constituency over Congress candidate Basant Kumar. After twelve rounds of counting, Dass received 29,101 votes against Basant Kumar's 26,751 votes.

Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sudhakar Singh is still maintaining his lead in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi constituency over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dara Singh Chauhan. After twelve rounds of counting, Sudhakar received 48,202 votes against Chauhan's 29,987 votes.

All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi is still leading in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency over Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi. After ten rounds of counting, Yashoda Devi received 39,370 votes against Bebi Devi's 32,424 votes. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Abdul Mobin Rizvi is at third spot with 1,667 votes.

On the Puthuppally by-elections, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said, "The spectacular victory in the Puthuppally by-elections is a clear message to the Modi and Pinarayi Vijayan government. Both BJP and CPM have been thrown by the people of Puthuppally. No by-election in Kerala has got such a landslide margin. The message is very clear".

Trinamool Congress candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy is now leading in West Bengal's Dhupguri constituency over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Tapasi Roy. After five rounds of counting, Nirmal Chandra Roy received 50,441 votes against Tapasi Roy's 49,479 votes.

Opposition Congress-UDF on Friday retained the Puthuppally Assembly constituency in Kerala as its candidate Chandy Ommen won by a margin of over 36,000 votes in the bypoll, Election Commission sources said. The outcome of the election was a victory against LDF misrule and 100 per cent political victory for Congress, the party said in its response to Oommen's win. While Oommen, son of late Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy, gained a clear edge since the initial round, his nearest rival and ruling LDF candidate Jaick C Thomas could never gain a lead in any rounds. The CPI(M)-led LDF lost ground even in its stronghold areas, and BJP candidate Lijin Lal was nowhere in the picture when the counting was over. Chandy Oommen (37), currently chairman of the Youth Congress's national outreach cell, could well surpass his father's record of margin of 33,255 votes in the constituency, which the late Congress leader represented Puthuppally in the state assembly for over five decades. The bypoll result, which came a few months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is seen as a huge setback for the ruling CPI(M), which has been facing allegations of corruption and nepotism from the opposition Congress-led UDF and the BJP. The bypoll was held following the death of Oommen Chandy. The election was conducted on September 5.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Parwati Dass is still leading in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar constituency over Congress candidate Basant Kumar. After eleven rounds of counting, Dass received 27,123 votes against Basant Kumar's 24,864 votes.

Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sudhakar Singh is still maintaining his lead in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi constituency over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dara Singh Chauhan. After ten rounds of counting, Sudhakar received 38,635 votes against Chauhan's 26,496 votes.

All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi is still leading in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency over Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi. After eight rounds of counting, Yashoda Devi received 29,633 votes against Bebi Devi's 26,794 votes. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Abdul Mobin Rizvi is at third spot with 1,370 votes. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen candidate Abdul Mobin Rizvi was in the third place with 1,129 votes. Giridih deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Naman Priyesh Lakra told media that the counting of votes began at 8 am on Friday for the by-election amid tight security. On reports of a delay of around 10 minutes, he said counting of postal ballots had started at 8 am. The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. Of the total 2.98 lakh eligible voters, 64.84 per cent had cast their votes. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of JMM MLA Jagarnath Mahto, the state's Education Minister, in April. He had been representing the seat since 2004. The JMM has fielded Mahto's wife Bebi Devi as the candidate of the INDIA bloc, while the AJSU Party has nominated Yashoda Devi as the NDA candidate.

Congress candidate Chandy Oommen received 78,098 votes in Kerala's Puthuppally constituency, while CPM's Jaick C Thomas managed to get 41,644 votes. BJP's Ligin Lal stood third with 6,447 votes.

Congress candidate Chandy Oommen wins Kerala's Puthuppally constituency after defeating Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Jaick C Thomas by 36,454 votes.

The BJP was ahead of the Congress in the Bageshwar assembly bypoll, with its candidate Parwati Das leading by 1,542 votes as counting progressed on Thursday. At the end of the seventh round of counting, Das had polled 18,299 votes while the Congress' Basant Kumar had garnered 16,757 votes, Bageshwar District Magistrate Anuradha Pal said. The BJP moved ahead of the Congress in the third round and has maintained the lead consistently so far. The seat was held since 2007 by the BJP's Chandan Ram Das whose death in April this year necessitated a bypoll to the seat.

All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi maintains her lead in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency over Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi. After seven rounds of counting, Yashoda Devi received 25,557 votes against Bebi Devi's 24,006 votes.

BJP's Tafajjal Hossain received 34,146 votes in Boxanagar, while CPM's Mizan Hossain managed to get just 3,909 votes.

BJP candidate Tafajjal Hossain defeats Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Mizan Hossain in Tripura's Boxanagar constituency by 30,237 votes.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Parwati Dass is leading in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar constituency over Congress candidate Basant Kumar. After eight rounds of counting, Dass received 20,850 votes against Basant Kumar's 18,673 votes.

Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sudhakar Singh is leading in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi constituency over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dara Singh Chauhan. After seven rounds of counting, Sudhakar received 25,496 votes against Chauhan's 18,311 votes.

BJP candidate Tafajjal Hossain is leading in Tripura's Boxanagar constituency over Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Mizan Hossain. After six rounds of counting, Hossain received 34,146 votes against Mizan's 3,909 votes.

Congress candidate Chandy Oommen is leading in Kerala's Puthuppally constituency over Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Jaick C Thomas. After ten rounds of counting, Chandy received 60,774 votes against Jaick's 32,255 votes.

All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi is leading in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency over Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi. After five rounds of counting, Yashoda Devi received 18,486 votes against Bebi Devi's 17,356 votes.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Tapasi Roy is leading in West Bengal's Dhupguri constituency over Trinamool Congress candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy. After the first round of counting, Tapasi Roy received 8,899 votes against Nirmal Chandra Roy's 7,328 votes.

The BJP won the by-elections to the Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district on Friday, according to the Election Commission. BJP's Tafajjal Hossain won the Boxanagar seat, which has around 66 per cent minority voters, by 30,237 votes. Hossain got 34,146 votes, while his nearest rival Mizan Hossain of the CPI(M) got 3,909 votes. BJP candidate Bindu Debnath bagged the Dhanpur seat, which has a significant tribal population, by 18,871 votes. Debnath got 30,017 votes, and his nearest rival Kaushik Chanda of the CPI(M) got 11,146 votes. Alleging large-scale rigging during the polling and inaction by the Election Commission, the opposition CPI(M) boycotted the counting of votes. The two seats witnessed a one-on-one fight between the ruling BJP and the CPI(M) with the other two opposition parties, Tipra Motha and Congress, not fielding any candidates.

BJP's Bindu Debnath received 30,017 votes in Dhanpur, while CPM's Kaushik Chanda managed to get just 11,146 votes.

BJP candidate Bindu Debnath defeats Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Kaushik Chanda in Tripura's Dhanpur constituency by 18,871 votes.

JMM candidate Bebi Devi was leading by 1,341 votes over her nearest AJSU party rival Yashoda Devi in the by-election to the Dumri Assembly seat in Jhakhand's Giridih district on Friday, officials said. After two rounds of counting, the JMM candidate, who is also the INDIA bloc nominee had secured 7,314 votes, while the AJSU Party candidate, an NDA nominee, got 5,973 votes. Giridih deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer Naman Priyesh Lakra told PTI that counting of votes began at 8 am on Friday for the by-election amid tight security. On reports of delay of around 10 minutes, he said counting of postal ballots had started at 8 am. The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. Of the total 2.98 lakh eligible voters, 64.84 per cent had cast their votes, they said. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of JMM MLA Jagarnath Mahto, the state's Education Minister, in April. He had been representing the seat since 2004. The JMM has fielded Mahto's wife Bebi Devi as the candidate of the INDIA bloc, while the AJSU Party has nominated Yashoda Devi as the NDA candidate.

The BJP on Friday morning was leading in both assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district where bypolls were held, according to the Election Commission. After four rounds of counting, BJP's Tafajjal Hossain was leading by 25,478 votes in the Boxanagar seat. CPI(M) candidate Mizan Hossain was at the second spot. In the Dhanpur seat, BJP's Bindu Debnath was ahead by 14,384 votes after four rounds of counting. CPI(M)'s Kaushik Chanda was trailing. The counting of votes began at 8 am, and six rounds of counting will be held in the two seats. The polling for the by-elections was held on September 5. An average turnout of 86.50 per cent was recorded in the two seats. The counting was being held at the Sonamura Girls' School amid tight security.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Parwati Dass is leading in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar constituency by just 1 vote over Congress candidate Basant Kumar. After three rounds of counting, Dass received 6,774 votes against Basant Kumar's 6,773 votes.

Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sudhakar Singh is leading in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi constituency over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dara Singh Chauhan. After three rounds of counting, Sudhakar received 10,334 votes against Chauhan's 8,342 votes.

BJP candidate Tafajjal Hossain is leading in Tripura's Boxanagar constituency over Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Mizan Hossain. After three rounds of counting, Hossain received 22,781 votes against Mizan's mere 765 votes.

Congress candidate Chandy Oommen is leading in Kerala's Puthuppally constituency over Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate Jaick C Thomas. After three rounds of counting, Chandy received 17,034 votes against Jaick's 8,636 votes.

All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi is leading in Jharkhand's Dumri constituency over Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Bebi Devi. After the first round of counting, Yashoda Devi received 4,124 votes against Bebi Devi's 2,859 votes.

Yashoda Devi is leading in initial trends with 4,555 votes. JMM's Bebi Devi with 2,859 votes in Dumri Assembly constituency of Uttarakhand. 

Here's the initial update:

BJP's Parvati Das - 2,191
Basant Kumar (Congress)- 2,945
Arjun Dev (UKD)- 52
Bhagwat Prasad (SP)-27 
Bhagwat Kohli (UPP)- 10 

Congress candidate Chandy Oommen is leading by 10,500 votes in Kerala's Puthuppally seat.

Congress candidate Basant Kumar is initially leading in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar Assembly constituency.

Samajwadi Party's (SP) Sudhakar Singh took the initial lead in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dara Singh Chauhan.

As counting of postal ballots for the bypolls in Tripura's Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly constituencies is currently underway, the BJP candidates in both the seats have taken an early lead, election officials said on Friday. BJP candidates Taffajal Hossain in Boxanagar and Bindu Debnath in Dhanpur are leading by around 1,000 votes over their CPI-M rivals Mizan Hossain and Kaushik Chanda, respectively. “After the completion of counting of postal ballots, counting of votes stored in the EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) would be taken up,” the poll officials said. The counting for the bypolls held on Tuesday began early Friday morning amid tight security. Voter turnout stood at 86.56 per cent, with 93,495 eligible voters casting their ballots.

Congress candidate Chandy Oommen took the initial lead in Kerala's Puthuppally Assembly constituency. The Puthuppally seat in Kerala was represented by former CM Oommen Chandy. The bypoll was necessitated after his death. The Congress party has fielded Chandy Oommen, the son of Oommen Chandy, as its candidate. 

(REPORT: T RAGHAVAN)

The results for bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states will be declared on Friday in what is being seen as a major test for the opposition alliance INDIA against the BJP-led NDA ahead of the polls in five states later this year and Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The counting of votes began at 8 am at centres set up in the respective states. The seven seats -- Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura -- went to polls on September 5. The by-election saw the INDIA alliance putting up a united front in the Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh where the polling percentage was 50.77 and in Jharkhand's Dumri where a total of 64.84 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters exercised their franchise. Out of the seven seats, three (Dhanpur, Bageshwar and Dhupguri) were held by the BJP and one each by the Samajwadi Party (Ghosi), CPI(M) (Boxanagar), JMM (Dumri) and the Congress (Puthuppally).

The Puthuppally Assembly constituency in Kerala was represented by former CM and Congress leader Oommen Chandy 12 times in a row from 1970 to 2023. He was the MLA from this constituency for the last 53 years. Chandy won the seat in the 2023 Kerala Assembly Elections by defeating CPM's Jaick C Thomas with a margin of 9,044 votes. Chandy received 63,372 votes (48.08%) against Jaick's 54,328 votes (41.22%). BJP's N Hari got 11,694 votes (8.87%) and came third. The bypoll was necessitated after the death of Oommen Chandy. The Congress party has fielded Chandy Oommen, the son of Oommen Chandy, as its candidate. CPM's Jaick C Thomas and BJP's G Lijinlal are also in the fray. 

(REPORT: T RAGHAVAN)

Counting of votes began a few minutes after 8 am on Friday for the by-election to the Dumri assembly seat in Jharkhand's Giridih district amid tight security, officials said. The delay of around 10 minutes happened as official fomalities took some time to complete amid heavy rains in the area, they said. The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. Of the total 2.98 lakh voters, 64.84 per cent had cast their votes, they said. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of JMM MLA Jagarnath Mahto, the state's Education Minister, in April. He had been representing the seat since 2004. The JMM has fielded Mahto's wife Bebi Devi as the candidate of the INDIA bloc, while the AJSU Party has nominated Yashoda as the NDA candidate. The state's ruling coalition is hopeful of retaining the seat riding on the emotional wave over Mahto's death. The NDA is also hopeful of bagging the constituency with its campaign mainly focussing on the allegations of failures of the JMM-led government in the state. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has also fielded a candidate in the seat, which mainly witnessed a contest between JMM and the AJSU Party. Owaisi himself campaigned for party candidate Md Abdul Mobin Rizvi, hoping to make inroads in the state.

Ghosi (Uttar Pradesh): The Ghosi Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh was represented by Fagu Chauhan six times. In 2022, Dara Singh Chauhan left the BJP and joined the Samajwadi Party (SP). He contested the election from the Ghosi seat won it by defeating BJP candidate Vijay Rajbhar with a margin of votes. Chauhan received 1,08,430 votes (42.21%) against Rajbhar's 86,214 votes (33.57%). Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Wasim Iqbal got 54,248 votes (21.12%) and stood third. The bypoll was necessitated after Dara Singh Chauhan decided to join hands with the BJP again and left the SP. Chauhan is pitted against SP's Sudhakar Singh this time. The BSP didn't field any candidate. 

The counting of votes in the Bageshwar assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand began at 8 am on Friday, officials said. The votes are being counted at the Bageshwar Degree College where 14 tables have been set up and 130 polling personnel are on the job, Bageshwar District Magistrate Anuradha Pal said. Polling to the reserved SC seat in the Kumaon Division was held on September 5 when 55.44 per cent of the nearly 1.2 lakh voters exercised the franchise. The seat fell vacant after the death of MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April this year. He represented the constituency four times since 2007. There are five candidates in the fray, including Das' wife Parvati Das of the BJP, Basant Kumar of the Congress, Bhagvati Prasad of the Samajwadi Party, Arjun Dev of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal and Bhagwat Kohli of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party. The seat has seen straight contests between arch rivals BJP and Congress in successive elections over the years. The BJP is in power in Uttarakhand with a two-thirds majority so the results of this by-election will not have any bearing on the government.

The counting of votes for the Ghosi assembly bypoll- being seen as the first major electoral clash between the NDA and opposition bloc INDIA- got underway at 8:00 am Friday, officials said. More than 50 per cent of the total electorates in the assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh's Mau district cast their votes in the polling held on Tuesday. Ghosi had recorded a polling percentage of 58.59 in the last year's assembly elections. According to the Election Commission of India, the final voting percentage recorded in the September 5 assembly bypolls was 50.77 per cent. 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 in July. He returned to the BJP and was fielded by the party in the bypoll.

Counting of votes began at 8 am on Friday for the by-election to the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district amid tight security, officials said. The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. A voter turnout of 78 per cent was recorded, they said. The counting was being held at the Jalpaiguri II campus of the North Bengal University. "The counting of votes began at 8 am. There is a three-tier security around the venue of the counting," an election official said. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Bishnu Pada Ray on July 25. The ruling TMC has fielded college professor Nirmal Chandra Roy, while the BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021. The CPI(M) has fielded folk singer Ishwar Chandra Roy, and the Congress supported him.

Counting of votes began at 8 am on Friday for the by-elections to the two assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district, officials said. The polling for the by-elections to the Dhanpur and Boxanagar seats was held on September 5. An average turnout of 86.50 per cent was recorded in the two seats. The counting was being held at the Sonamura Girls' School amid tight security. Alleging large-scale rigging during the polling and inaction by the Election Commission, the opposition CPI(M) was boycotting the counting of votes. The two seats are witnessing a one-on-one fight between the ruling BJP and the CPI(M) with the other two opposition parties, Tipra Motha and Congress, not fielding any candidates.

Security has been tightened in Tripura's Sipahijala today ahead of the counting of votes for the bypolls in Dhanpur and Boxanagar.

Counting of votes for the bypolls in Tripura's two Assembly constituencies of Dhanpur and Boxanagar commenced on Friday amid tight security, officials said. Polling was held on Tuesday and 86.56 per cent of the 93,495 voters have cast their ballots. According to election officials, counting of the votes is being held in two centres at the Sonamura Girls’ Higher Secondary school in Sepahijala district under massive security cover. Claiming large-scale intimidation, rigging and irregularities by members and workers of the state's ruling BJP on the polling day and the Election Commission’s inactiveness to deal with the “terror and misdeeds”, the CPI (M)-led Left Front have boycotted the ballot counting.

Addressing the media, CPI (M) Tripura state Secretary Jitendra Choudhury said, “Due to the large-scale intimidation and attack of the ruling BJP cadres, the party’s polling agents could not attend in more than 50 per cent of the 110 polling stations in the two seats during the day of polling on Tuesday. "There was silent rigging in both the constituencies by the BJP workers. The police and election officials overlooked this new style of intimidating the opposition voters and election agents.”

The bypolls on seven assembly seats in six states are seen as a major test for the opposition alliance INDIA against the BJP-led NDA ahead of the polls in five states later this year and Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

Security tightened as the counting of votes for the Dhupguri Assembly by-polls begins

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

Dumri (Jharkhand): The Dumri Assembly constituency in Jharkhand was represented by former minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Jagarnnath Mahto four times in a row from 2005 to 2023. Mahto won the seat in the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly Elections by defeating All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) candidate Yashoda Devi with a margin of 34,288 votes. Mahto received 71,128 votes (37.38%) against Devi's 36,840 votes (19.36%). BJP's Pradeep Kumar Sahu got 36,013 votes (18.93%) and came third. The bypoll was necessitated after the death of Mahto. The JMM has fielded Bebi Devi, the wife of Jagarnnath Mahto, as its candidate. AJSU's Yashoda Devi is again contesting the election with the support of the BJP.

Puthuppally (Kerala): The Puthuppally Assembly constituency in Kerala was represented by former Chief Minister and Congress leader Oommen Chandy 12 times in a row from 1970 to 2023. Chandy won the seat in the 2023 Kerala Assembly Elections by defeating CPM's Jaick C Thomas with a margin of 9,044 votes. Chandy received 63,372 votes (48.08%) against Jaick's 54,328 votes (41.22%). BJP's N Hari got 11,694 votes (8.87%) and came third. The bypoll was necessitated after the death of Oommen Chandy. The Congress party has fielded Chandy Oommen, the son of Oommen Chandy, as its candidate. CPM's Jaick C Thomas and BJP's G Lijinlal are also in the fray.

The BJP and the Congress are in a straight contest in Uttarakhand. Bageshwar District Magistrate (DM) Anuradha Paul said 55.44 per cent voting was recorded in the bypoll. The voter turnout for the seat in 2022 assembly polls was 60.01 per cent, she said. Polling was peaceful with no untoward incident reported from anywhere, she said. The ruling BJP has fielded Parvati Das, the wife of Chandan Das who won four consecutive elections since 2007. His death necessitated the bypoll.

The Dhupguri assembly constituency in north Bengal witnessed 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. Polling was held amid tight security across 260 booths in the constituency. Central paramilitary forces were present at all the booths, an election official said. Two BJP leaders including an MLA, who are not residents of the constituency, were found in a party office. One of them, the BJP district president, had to leave as he could not show any document allowing him entry into Dhupguri during the voting.

Bageshwar (Uttarakhand): The Bageshwar Assembly constituency in Uttarakhand was represented by BJP leader and Minister Chandan Ram Das four times in a row from 2007 to 2023. Das won the seat in the 2023 Uttarakhand Assembly Elections by defeating Congress party's Ranjeet Das with a margin of 12,141 votes. Chandan Ram received 32,211 votes (43.14%) against Ranjeet Das's 20,070 votes (26.88%). Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Basant Kumar got 16,109 votes (21.57%) and came third. The bypoll was necessitated after the death of Chandan Ram Das. The BJP has fielded Parvati Das, the wife of Chandan Ram Das, as its candidate. AAP's Basant Kumar is now a Congress candidate against Parvati Das. 

Dhupguri (West Bengal): The Dhupguri Assembly constituency in West Bengal was represented by the CPM eight consecutive times from 1977 to 2016. In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections, BJP's Bishnu Pada Roy won the seat by defeating Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mitali Roy with a margin of 4,355 votes. The BJP candidate received 1,04,688 votes (45.65%) against Mitali Roy's 1,00,333 votes (43.75%). The bypoll was necessitated after the death of Bishnu Pada Roy. The BJP has fielded Tapasi Roy as its candidate against Trinamool's Dr Nirmal Chandra Roy.

Boxanagar (Tripura): The Boxanagar Assembly constituency in Tripura was represented by Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sahid Choudhury four times in a row from 2003 to 2023. CPM candidate Samsul Haque won the seat in the 2023 Tripura Assembly Elections by defeating BJP's Tafajjal Hossain with a margin of 4,849 votes. Haque received 19,404 votes (50.34%) against Hossain's 14,555 votes (37.76%). Tipra Motha Party's Abu Khayer Miah got 3,010 votes (7.81%) and stood third. The by-poll was necessitated after the death of Haque. BJP's Tafajjal Hossain is again contesting against CPM's Mizan Hussain this time. 

According to Election Commission sources, the counting of votes would begin by 8:00 am today at the special counting station in the Baselius College. Postal and service ballots would be counted first, they said. The total number of booths in Puthuppally was 182, and the counting of votes in the electronic voting machines would be conducted in 13 rounds.

Dhanpur (Tripura): The Dhanpur Assembly constituency in Tripura was represented by former Chief Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Manik Sarkar five times in a row from 1998 to 2023. However, he opted out of the contest in 2023. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik won the seat in the 2023 Tripura Assembly Elections by defeating CPM's Kaushik Chanda with a margin of 3,500 votes. Bhoumik received 19,148 votes (42.25%) against Chanda's 15,648 votes (34.53%). Tipra Motha Party's Amiya Dayal Noatia got 8,671 votes (19.13%) and stood third. The Tipra Motha didn't take part in the election this time and this could be the decisive factor in this seat. The bypoll was necessitated after Bhoumik decided to retain her Lok Sabha seat and the ministry. Kaushik Chanda is again in the fray against BJP's Bindu Debnath. 

The seven seats- Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura- went to poll on September 5.

In Dhupguri in West Bengal and Puthuppally in Kerala, where the I.N.D.I.A bloc constituents were up against each other, the voting was around 76 per cent and nearly 73 per cent respectively.

Out of the seven seats, three (Dhanpur, Bageshwar and Dhupguri), were held by the BJP and one each by the SP (Ghosi), CPI(M) (Boxanagar), JMM (Dumri) and the Congress (Puthuppally).

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 8:00 am at all the centres set up in the respective states.

High voter turnout was recorded in most of the seven assembly constituencies in six states where by-election was held on Tuesday (September 5), with Dhanpur in Tripura at the top with over 89 per cent voting. It is seen as a litmus test for the opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A against the BJP-led NDA ahead of the assembly polls in five states later this year and the 2023 Lok Sabha election 2024. 

The vote counting for several high-profile assembly seats to begin in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tripura and Uttarakhand today (September 8).