The bypolls will be held on July 10 and the counting of votes will be on July 13. (Representational image/PTI)
Bypolls to 13 Assembly constituencies across seven states, including four in West Bengal, will take place on July 10
After a high-voltage contest in the recently held Lok Sabha polls 2024, the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA will lock horns on July 10 as 13 Assembly constituencies across seven states, including four in West Bengal, will go to bypolls. The counting of votes will take place on July 13.
The bypolls are to be held against vacancies created either due to the deaths or the resignation of incumbent members.
The Assembly seats going for bypolls are: Rupauli in Bihar, Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagdah and Maniktala (all in West Bengal), Vikravandi (Tamil Nadu), Amarwara (Madhya Pradesh), Badrinath and Manglaur (Uttarakhand), Jalandhar West (Punjab) and Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh).
13 Seats Across 7 States To Go To Bypolls
West Bengal
Raiganj: In 2021, the BJP won the Raiganj seat but MLA Krishna Kalyani later joined the TMC. Trinamool has fielded Krishna Kalyani again from his erstwhile seat. Meanwhile, the BJP has fileded a local party leader, Manas Kumar Ghosh.
Maniktala: The seat fell vacant after the death of sitting TMC leader Sadhan Pandey on February 20, 2022. Notably, the bypolls to the seat were not held yet as BJP candidate Kalyan Chaubey filed a petition alleging irregularities in polling in the 2021 Assembly elections. However, Chaubey later withdrew his petition.
The TMC has fielded Sadhan Pande’s wife Supti Pande for the upcoming bypoll. The BJP has fielded Kalyan Chaubey against her.
Bagdah: The BJP won this seat in North 24 Parganas in 2021. However, the winning candidate, Biswajit Das, returned to the TMC. Das was fielded in the Lok Sabha polls by the TMC, but he was defeated by the BJP’s Shantanu Thakur in the Bongaon constituency.
The TMC has fielded Madhuparna Thakur as its candidate, while the BJP has fielded a local leader, Binay Kumar Biswas.
Ranaghat Dakhshin: Just before the Lok Sabha elections, BJP MLA Mukut Mani Adhikari joined the TMC and was fielded as the candidate for the Ranaghat seat. However, Adhikari lost to the BJP’s sitting MP, Jagannath Sarkar. He will be contesting again from the seat as TMC candidate against the BJP’s Manoj Kumar Biswas.
Uttarakhand
Badrinath: The Badrinath seat was left vacant after Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari resigned in March and joined the BJP. The BJP has nominated Bhandari from Badrinath while the Congress has fielded Lakhpat Butola, a former district panchayat president.
Manglaur: The Manglaur seat bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari in October 2023.
The Congress has nominated senior party leader Qazi Nizamuddin for the seat, a Muslim-majority constituency, which he has won three times, in 2002, 2007, and 2017.
Punjab
The Jalandhar West bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of AAP MLA Sheetal Angural, who had joined the BJP.
Himachal Pradesh
A close contest will be witnessed in Himachal Pradesh, with Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh going to the polls. All eyes will be on Dehra, Congress has fielded Kamlesh Thakur, the wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Tamil Nadu
The bypoll in the Vikravandi seat was necessitated after the death of sitting DMK MLA N Pughazenthi in April this year. The seat will witness a three-cornered contest between the ruling DMK, PMK, (NDA constituent) and the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK).
Bihar
The bypoll in Bihar’s Rupauli was necessitated following the resignation of sitting JD(U) MLA Bima Bharti, who joined RJD and contested the Lok Sabha polls from Purnia.
Madhya Pradesh
Amarwara (ST) Assembly seat is going for bypolls in Madhya Pradesh after Kamlesh Shah, the Congress leader representing the constituency, crossed over to the BJP and resigned ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.