Voting for bypolls to seven assembly seats held across six states

Polling for the by-elections to seven assembly seats across six states — Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana — concluded peacefully on Thursday, barring a few stray incidents, officials said.

The results will be announced on November 6.

In Bihar, the bypolls assume significance as they are the first major electoral exercise after chief minister Nitish Kumar parted ways with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA and formed government in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and other smaller partners.

BJP legislator Subash Singh’s death necessitated the bypoll in Gopalganj, while Mokama went to the polls after sitting RJD MLA Anant Singh was convicted in an arms case. Election officials said that Mokama recorded a 53.45% voting while it was 51.48% for Gopalganj seat, slightly lower than the 54.01% and 55.03% the two seats recorded in the 2020 assembly elections.

Also read: Adampur bypoll: A do-or-die for dynast Bhavya Bishnoi

The bypoll to Munogode in Telangana is also being keenly watched with all three main parties — the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), BJP and the Congress — in the fray. The bypoll was necessitated after Congress MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy resigned and switched over to the BJP. The voting percentage was 77.5 % till 5 pm, according to ECI officials, less than 91.30% in 2018.

To be sure, polling percentages often rise after 5pm as those still standing in queue are allowed to vote.

“There were complaints from all the three parties – BJP, Congress and TRS — about the respective opponents trying to induce the voters with money. As of now, there is no necessity of any repolling in any part of the constituency,” CEO Vikas Raj said.

The by-election to the Mumbai’s Andheri East seat saw a voting percentage of 31.74 % till 5 pm, as against 53.82% voting in the 2019 assembly polls. The elections are considered a mere formality for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction’s Rutuja Latke after the withdrawal of the BJP candidate.

In Haryana’s Adampur, where Kuldeep Bishnoi’s son Bhavya is the candidate against former Union minister Jai Prakash of the Congress, Kurda Lal Nambardar of the INLD and Satender Singh of the AAP, there was 69.51% turnout till 5 pm, as opposed to 75.79% in 2019.

Also read: Over 57% voter turnout in Gokarannath bypoll, SP alleges booth capturing by BJP

In Gola Gokarannath constituency in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, the fight is a straight contest between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party. A voter turnout of 58% was recorded as against 65.62% in the assembly elections earlier this year. The SP alleged that some polling centres were captured by workers of the ruling BJP.

The bypoll for Dhamnagar seat in Odisha was necessitated after the death of sitting BJP MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi. A turnout of 58% was reported till 5 pm, while 71.93% voters had exercised their franchise in April 2019. The seat is significant because it is the second assembly seat in coastal Odisha that the BJP had won in 2019, in what is generally considered a BJD stronghold.