Amid heightened security, voting began on Thursday for by-elections to five Assembly seats across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Kerala — marking the first electoral contest since the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Polling commenced at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m. (till 8 p.m. in Gujarat), with heavy deployment of central security forces and local police, alongside live monitoring through an extensive webcasting system.
By-elections are being held in Kaliganj (West Bengal), Nilambur (Kerala), Ludhiana West (Punjab), and the Visavadar and Kadi constituencies in Gujarat. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 23.
With Assembly elections due in West Bengal and Kerala early next year, this mini electoral battle has gained added political significance.
Ludhiana West Bypoll (Punjab)
The Ludhiana West seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. The bypoll is witnessing a multi-cornered contest involving key political players — AAP, Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — vying for dominance in this urban constituency.
A total of 14 candidates are contesting, with 1,75,469 eligible voters, including 85,371 women and 10 from the third gender. Voting is taking place across 194 polling stations, all equipped for 100% live webcasting.
The ruling AAP has fielded Rajya Sabha MP and industrialist Sanjeev Arora (61), who is also known for his social welfare initiatives. The Congress has nominated former Minister and state Working President Bharat Bhushan Ashu (51), a two-time MLA from the constituency, who lost to Gogi in 2022 by 7,512 votes.
The BJP has fielded senior leader Jiwan Gupta, a core committee member and former state general secretary. SAD’s candidate is Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a lawyer and former president of the Ludhiana Bar Association.
Nilambur Bypoll (Kerala)
The Nilambur seat fell vacant after MLA P.V. Anvar resigned following a fallout with the CPI(M)-led LDF over allegations he made against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his aides.
Among the 10 candidates, key contenders include LDF’s M. Swaraj, UDF’s Aryadan Shoukath, independent candidate and former MLA P.V. Anvar (now aligned with TMC), and Mohan George from the BJP-led NDA.
Over 2.32 lakh voters are eligible to vote across 263 polling booths. The final voter list includes 1,13,613 men, 1,18,760 women, and 8 transgender persons, with 7,787 first-time voters, 373 overseas voters, and 324 service voters.
Kaliganj Bypoll (West Bengal)
The by-election in Kaliganj, located in Nadia district, was triggered by the death of Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed in February. The TMC has nominated his daughter, Alifa, for the seat.
The contest is shaping up as a triangular battle between the TMC, BJP’s Ashis Ghosh, and Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Shaikh, who is supported by the CPI(M). The campaign has been influenced by issues of identity politics, post-Murshidabad riot concerns, and a nationalist wave following Operation Sindoor.
Visavadar and Kadi Bypolls (Gujarat)
Voting for the Visavadar and Kadi Assembly seats began at 7 a.m. and will continue until 8 p.m., with 294 polling stations set up in each constituency.
Visavadar (Junagadh district):
The seat became vacant in December 2023 after AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the BJP.
The BJP has fielded Kirit Patel, Congress has nominated Nitin Ranpariya, and AAP’s candidate is former state president Gopal Italia, making it a high-stakes triangular contest.
Notably, the BJP hasn’t won this seat since 2007. In 2022, Bhayani defeated BJP’s Harshad Ribadiya (a Congress defector) by 7,063 votes.
Kadi (Mehsana district):
A reserved constituency for Scheduled Castes, the seat fell vacant following the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki in February.
The BJP has nominated Rajendra Chavda, while Congress has fielded former MLA Ramesh Chavda, who won in 2012 but lost to Solanki in 2017. AAP’s candidate is Jagdish Chavda. Like Visavadar, Kadi is also witnessing a triangular contest among BJP, Congress, and AAP.
(With inputs from IANS)