6 States, 7 Seats: All You Need to Know About the Bypolls Across India Today
Bypolls are underway in Haryana, Bihar, UP, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Telangana.
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Bypolls are underway in seven Assembly constituencies in six states on Thursday, 3 November.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. The counting of votes will take place on 6 November.
Here's a lowdown on today's bypolls.
Lakhimpur: Voters click a selfie showing their ink-marked fingers after casting their votes in Uttar Pradeshs Gola Gokarannath constituency by-elections.
Gopalganj: Voters show their ink-marked fingers after casting their votes for the Gopalganj Assembly by-elections.
Gopalganj: Voters holding their identification cards stand in a queue to cast their votes for the Gopalganj Assembly by-elections, in Gopalganj.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray candidate Rutuja Latke and son Amey Latke flash their ink-marked fingers after casting their votes for the Andheri (East) Assembly by-elections.
Adampur: BJP leader Kuldeep Bishnoi with party candidate and son Bhavya Bishnoi flash their ink-marked fingers after casting their votes for the Adampur Assembly by-elections, in Adampur, Haryana.
Adampur, Haryana
Why: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal's younger son Kuldeep Bishnoi resigned as MLA, and moved from the Congress Party to the BJP.
Who are contesting: Bishnoi's son Bhavya Bishnoi is contesting as a BJP candidate. He had also quit the Congress party with his father. He is the grandson of a former CM, the late Bhajan Lal.
Former Union minister Jai Prakash, who is a two-time MP and three-time MLA, is contesting from the Congress party.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate is Satender Singh and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate is Kurdaram Nambardar.
How many voters: Almost 1.71 lakh people are eligible to vote.
Why is it important: The Bhajan Lal family has held on to this seat for almost five decades.
Gola Gokarnath, Uttar Pradesh
Why: Five-time MLA Arvind Giri died of a cardiac arrest last month.
Who all are contesting: Arvind Giri's 26-year-old son Aman Giri is contesting from the BJP while the Samajwadi Party (SP) will be represented by former MLA Vinay Tiwari.
The Congress party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have decided to not contest the bypoll.
How many voters: More than 3.9 lakh people are eligible to vote.
Why is it important: The seat is in Lakhimpur Kheri, which is the largest district in UP and an extremely sensitive area after BJP leader Ashish Mishra allegedly mowed down a group of farmers protesting the Modi government's farm laws.
The BJP, however, did win this seat nine months ago in the UP Assembly elections. Losing it now would imply a failure in the governance of the Yogi government.
Gopalganj, Bihar
Why: BJP MLA Subhash Singh died in August due to a prolonged illness.
Who all are contesting: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate is Mohan Gupta, a local businessman and a veteran cadre, while the BJP has fielded Kusum Devi, who is the widow of Subhas Singh.
Additionally, the BSP has fielded Indira Devi, sister-in-law of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, while Aslam Parvej is representing the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
How many voters: More than 2.5 lakh people are eligible to vote.
Why is it important: Lalu's son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav has campaigned extensively for this seat. Given the recent change in government in the state, this bypoll may be a litmus test for the new regime (albeit the same CM, Nitish Kumar).
It is also symbolically important as Gopalganj is the birthplace of Lalu Yadav.
Mokama, Bihar
Why: The sitting MLA, Anant Singh, was disqualified in July after being convicted in an Arms Act case.
Who all are contesting: It is a battle of two bahubalis, but via their wives.
The RJD candidate is Neelam Devi, the wife of Anant Singh, aka 'Chhote Sarkar', while the BJP has selected Sonam Devi, wife of Nalini Ranjan Sharma aka 'Lalan Singh', a don who faces over 30 criminal cases including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and extortion.
How many voters: Around 2.7 lakh people are eligible to vote.
Why is it important: The BJP is contesting from this seat for the first time. In the past, it left the seat to its ex-ally, the Janata Dal (United).
This bypoll too will be a litmus test for the new regime's governance.
Dhamnagar, Odisha
Why: BJP MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi passed away in September. Earlier this year in July, he had contracted COVID-19.
Who all are contesting: The BJP has fielded Sethi’s son Suryabanshi Suraj while Abanti Das is representing the Biju Janta Dal (BJD).
How many voters: Around 2.4 lakh people are eligible to vote.
Why is it important: The BJD has won all the five bypolls that have been held in Odisha since 2019.
Additionally, former BJD MLA Rajendra Das has rebelled against the party and is contesting independently. His candidacy might have a noticeable impact on the bypoll.
Andheri East, Maharashtra
Why: Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke died of cardiac arrest in Dubai, in May earlier this year.
Who all are contesting: Ramesh Latke's wife Rutuja Latke contesting on behalf of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). There is no candidate from the ruling BJP-Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena alliance.
How many voters: Around 2.75 lakh voters are eligible to vote.
Why is it important: It is the first election following the rebellion led by the now incumbent Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs.
Additionally, BJP candidate Murji Patel withdrew from the contest after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) sought an unopposed election for Rujuta Latke.
Munugode, Telangana
Why: MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy resigned on 2 August. He then went on to join the BJP.
Who all are contesting: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), formerly Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), has fielded MLA Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy. The BJP candidate is Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy and the Congress candidate is Palvai Sravanthi Reddy.
How many voters: More than 2.4 lakh people are eligible to vote.
Why is it important: This is the first election since the TRS became the BRS, and the ruling party has campaigned extensively for this seat.
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