Last Updated:
The bypolls were held in Kerala’s Nilambur seat, Gujarat’s Visavadar and Kadi, Punjab’s Ludhiana West and West Bengal’s Kaliganj on June 19.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann campaigning for Ludhiana West bypoll. (PTI)
The results of the bypolls held in five seats across four states – Gujarat, Punjab, Kerala and West Bengal – will be announced today, as the counting of votes began at 8 am amid tight security.
On June 19, the bypolls were held in Kerala’s Nilambur seat, Gujarat’s Visavadar and Kadi seats, Punjab’s Ludhiana West, and West Bengal’s Kaliganj. A fierce contest was seen between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Pinarayi Vijayan’s Left Democratic Front (LDF).
The polling took place under tight security arrangements, including the deployment of central forces and police, along with the live monitoring of the bypoll process through an extensive webcasting system. These Assembly bypolls hold significant importance for both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition INDIA bloc.
Punjab – Ludhiana West
The Ludhiana West Assembly seat fell vacant after AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi passed away in January. A total of 14 candidates competed in the bypoll, with key players from the AAP, Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal.
AAP fielded Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, 61, while Congress went with former Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, 51, who won the seat twice in 2012 and 2017. The BJP fielded senior party leader Jiwan Gupta and the SAD named Parupkar Singh Ghuman as its candidate. The bypoll registered 51.33% polling, a sharp drop from the 64% voting registered in the 2022 Assembly polls.
Kerala – Nilambur
The byelection for the Nilambur Assembly seat was conducted after Anvar resigned as MLA after several ties with the CPI(M)-led LDF over certain allegations from Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and his close aides.
Among the 10 contestants, the key contenders are ruling LDF’s pick M Swaraj, Aryadan Shoukath of the Congress-led UDF, TMC state convenor and Independent nominee P V Anvar and Mohan George of the BJP-led NDA. Nilambur saw the highest voter turnout in all five bypolls, with 75.27%.
Gujarat – Visavadar, Kadi
There were bypoll elections in two Assembly seats in Gujarat. The Visavadar seat in Junagadh district has been vacant since December 2023, when AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the BJP. The BJP nominated Kirit Patel, Congress went with Nitin Ranpariya and AAP chose former Gujarat President Gopal Italia in the fierce three-way contest.
On the other hand, the Kadi seat in Mehsana district fell vacant on February 4 after the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki. The BJP fielded Rajendra Chavda, while the Congress nominated former MLA Ramesh Chavda. The AAP chose Jagdish Chavda as its candidate. Visavadar saw a voter turnout of 56.89%, while Kadi witnessed 57.91%.
West Bengal – Kaliganj
The bypoll in Kaliganj in West Bengal’s Nadia district was necessitated after the death of Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed in February. The ruling party fielded his daughter, Alifa Ahamed, for the bypoll.
The BJP nominated Ashis Ghosh, and the Congress chose Kabil Uddin Shaikh with the support of the CPI(M). A voter turnout of 73.36% was recorded in the Kaliganj bypoll on June 19 amid a fierce three-way contest in the aftermath of the Murshidabad riots and Operation Sindoor.
(with inputs from agencies)
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
- First Published:
