A moderate turnout of nearly 57 percent was reported on Monday, 21 October, in the bypolls to 51 Assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies across 18 states. Voters braved heavy rains in Kerala where streets were inundated and water entered some polling booths, reported PTI.
Uttar Pradesh saw a mini-election of sorts with bypolls in 11 seats. Six seats in Gujarat, five in Bihar, four in Assam and two each in Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, also went to polls. Voting was also held for Bihar's Samastipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar and Satara Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra.
The BJP and its allies had nearly 30 of these Assembly seats, while the Congress had won 12 and the rest were with regional parties.
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51% Turnout in Gujarat, 60% in Maharashtra’s Satara
A moderate 51 percent average voter turnout had been registered in six Assembly seats in Gujarat.
Bypolls were held in Tharad seat in Banaskantha district, Radhanpur in Patan, Kheralu in Mehsana, Bayad in Arvalli, Amraiwadi in Ahmedabad and Lunawada seat in Mahisagar district.
By-elections were necessitated in Radhanpur and Bayad due to the resignations of sitting MLAs Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala, who quit the Congress and joined the BJP.
The ruling party has fielded both of them from their respective seats in the by-election.
In neighbouring Maharashtra, the turnout was over 60 percent in the bypoll to the Satara Lok Sabha seat.
60% Turnout for 4 Punjab Seats
For the bypolls to four Punjab Assembly seats – Phagwara (reserve), Jalalabad, Dakha and Mukerian – the turnout was recorded at 60 percent.
Around 7.76 lakh voters were eligible to decide the fate of 33 candidates.
High Turnout in TN, Puducherry
There was nearly 70 percent polling in Kamraj Nagar in Puducherry.
The AIADMK and DMK were locked in a keen contest in Vikravandi and Nanguneri Assembly seats in Tami Nadu where a turnout of 84.36 percent and 66.10 percent respectively was recorded.
Congress MP H Vasanthakumar was detained for allegedly staying in Nanguneri Assembly constituency when polling was underway, PTI reported.
In Nanguneri, which has 2.57 lakh voters, 23 candidates were in the fray, and in Vikravandi, with 2.23 lakh electors, 12 nominees are vying for the seat.
66% Voting for Rajasthan Bypolls
There was 66 percent voting Mandawa and Khivsar Assembly constituencies in Rajasthan.
The ruling Congress had fielded former MLAs Rita Chaudhary and Harendra Mirdha on the Mandawa (Jhunjhunu) and Khivsar (Nagaur) seats respectively.
BJP's Sushila Sigra is contesting the bypoll on Mandawa and BJP-RLP alliance candidate Narayan Beniwal is contesting from the Khivsar constituency.
UP Bypolls: Low Turnout of 47% in 11 Seats
Uttar Pradesh saw a low voter turnout of 47.05 percent in the 11 Assembly seats.
While Gangoh in Saharanpur district saw the highest turnout of about 60.30 percent, the Lucknow Cantonment seat witnessed the lowest at 28.53 percent.
Of the 11 seats, eight were earlier held by the BJP and one by its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal). The seats of Rampur and Jalalpur (Ambedkarnagar) were held by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party respectively.
The BJP, the BSP, the SP, and the Congress had fielded their candidates for all the seats.
According to the office of UP's Chief Electoral Officer, 109 candidates were in the fray for the bypolls to the Assembly seats of Gangoh, Rampur, Iglas (SC), Lucknow Cantonment, Govindnagar, Manikpur, Pratapgarh, Zaidpur (SC), Jalalpur, Balha (SC) and Ghosi.
The by-elections were necessitated after some MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha and resigned as members of the state Assembly.
The Ghosi Assembly constituency became vacant following the resignation of sitting MLA Phagu Chauhan after he was appointed Governor of Bihar.
Heavy Rains Disrupt Bypolls in Kerala
The bypolls to the five Assembly constituencies in Kerala were marred by heavy rains, especially in Ernakulam, as voters waded through water-logged roads to exercise their franchise and water seeped into some booths.
Ernakkullam saw a relatively low turnout at 53.27 percent.
The voting percentage was above 66 percent in the other seats, with the highest in Aroor at 75.74 percent. The state generally has high polling percentage.
62% Polling in MP’s Jhabua
Approximately 62 percent polling was recorded in the by-election to Jhabua Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh.
The Congress has fielded former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria (68) from the seat against BJP's Bhanu Bhuria, who is contesting his maiden election.
BJP leader GS Damor defeated Kantilal Bhuria's son Vikrant Bhuria of the Congress in the Assembly polls last year. Later, Damor contested the Lok Sabha election from the Ratlam seat, where he defeated Kantilal Bhuria.
Damor subsequently resigned as MLA from Jhabua, which necessitated the by-election.
In the Naxal-hit Chitrakot in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, 74 percent turnout was recorded.
70% Turnout in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh saw an average turnout of nearly 70 percent in Pachhad and Dharamshala seats.
As many as 82,137 and 74,487 voters were eligible to exercise their right to franchise in Dharamshala and Pachhad respectively, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Rupali Thakur had said.
75.7% Turnout in Assam
The Assembly by-elections took place in five seats of Bihar, four in Assam, three in Sikkim, one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Meghalaya respectively.
There was an estimated 75.69 percent voting in four assembly seats in Assam. The figure was 49.50 percent in Bihar, where bypolls were held in five Assembly seats and Samatipur Lok Sabha seat.
The fate of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s nephew Prince Raj and Congress nominee Ashok Ram will be decided in the by-poll to the Samastipur constituency.
While Khonsa West Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh recorded a high turnout of 90 percent, the Shella constituency in Meghalaya was not far behind with 84.56 percent, according to data released by EC.
In Sikkim, where Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang contested from Poklok Kamrang constituency, an average turnout of 70 percent was recorded in three seats. Former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia is in the fray from Gangtok on Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP) ticket.
The Election Commission had earlier announced bypolls to 15 assembly seats in Karnataka too. But they will be now be held in December.
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