Assembly bypolls: Voting underway in 13 seats across 7 states
What's the story
Bypolls for 13 assembly constituencies across seven states, began on Wednesday at 7:00am.
The bypolls, which are the first electoral exercise since the Lok Sabha elections, were necessitated due to vacancies created by the deaths or resignations of incumbent members.
This election will determine the political future of many veteran politicians and newcomers, including Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Constituencies listed
Assembly seats across multiple states up for grabs
The assembly seats up for election include Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala in West Bengal; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh.
Four of these states are ruled by parties that are part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), while the rest have a Bharatiya Janata Party or National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Polling begins
West Bengal witnesses heavy security deployment for bypolls
In West Bengal, polling began amid heavy deployment of security forces.
The four constituencies—Maniktala in Kolkata, Ranaghat Dakshin, and Bagdah in the North 24 Parganas—are located in the southern part of the state, while Raiganj is situated in north Bengal's Uttar Dinajpur district.
Approximately 10 lakh voters are expected to cast their votes across these four assembly segments.
Candidate selection
Himachal Pradesh bypolls: Former independent MLAs fielded by BJP
Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh is witnessing bypolls for three assembly constituencies—Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh.
These seats fell vacant after independent legislators Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur), and K L Thakur (Nalagarh), who had voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls, resigned from their positions.
The BJP has fielded these three former Independent MLAs from their respective seats after they joined the party.
Voting underway
Uttarakhand bypolls: Seats vacated due to death, resignation
In Uttarakhand, voting for bypolls to Manglaur and Badrinath assembly constituencies is underway.
The Manglaur bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari, while the Badrinath seat fell vacant after sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari resigned and switched to the BJP.
The BJP has never won the Manglaur constituency, which is dominated by Muslims and Dalits and has previously been held by either the Congress or the BSP.
Jalandhar West
Punjab bypoll: A litmus test for Chief Minister Mann
The Jalandhar West assembly segment in Punjab is also witnessing a bypoll, seen as a litmus test for Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.
The seat fell vacant after Sheetal Angural resigned as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator, leading to a multi-cornered fight with 15 candidates in the fray.
The counting of votes for these bypolls will take place on July 13.