Voting underway for bypolls to 1 Lok Sabha, 6 Assembly seats in 5 states

Bypolls to the assembly seats are being held in Padampur in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar, Bhanupratappur in Chhattisgarh and Rampur Sadar and Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh.

Election officials have made elaborate arrangements regarding the by-election. The counting of votes for a single parliamentary and six assembly seats will take place on December 8, coinciding with the counting of votes for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and Rampur Sadar and Khatauli assembly seat

In Uttar Pradesh, there is a direct contest between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) alliance in the Rampur Sadar and Khatauli assembly seats and the bypoll to Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency. BSP and Congress are not contesting on these seats.

According to a statement issued by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh, 24.43 lakh people will exercise their franchise in the bypolls. This includes 13.14 lakh male voters, 11.29 lakh female voters and 132 third class voters. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm at 3,062 polling stations located in 1,945 polling stations.

The by-election on Mainpuri parliamentary seat is being held due to the death of Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The Khatauli assembly seat fell vacant after BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini was disqualified following his recent conviction in a case related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. The Rampur Sadar election had fallen vacant after SP MLA Azam Khan was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison in a 2019 ‘hate speech’ case.

The results of the bypolls will have no impact on the central or state governments as the BJP enjoys a substantial majority at both levels.

However, the victory would provide a psychological advantage ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s elder daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav is the SP’s candidate in Mainpuri, while the BJP has fielded Raghuraj Singh Shakya, a former confidante of Mulayam’s brother Shivpal Singh Yadav. Dimple Yadav is the wife of SP President Akhilesh Yadav.

While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is hoping to demolish the dominant Samajwadi Party (SP) strongholds after winning the Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats in the June bypolls, the SP is turning the tide with a public show of unity by Shivpal and Akhilesh. willing to change, who announced that they had patched up their differences.

Sardarshahar seat of Rajasthan

The Sardarshahar seat in Rajasthan was held by Congress MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma (77), who died on October 9 after a prolonged illness. The Congress has fielded late Sharma’s son Anil Kumar while former MLA Ashok Kumar is the BJP’s candidate. Eight other candidates are in the fray.

Padampur seat is in Odisha

The bypoll to Odisha’s Padampur seat was necessitated by the death of BJD MLA Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for free and fair polling, officials said. There are 10 candidates in the fray in the by-election.

The bypoll assumes significance in the wake of the BJD’s defeat in Dhamnagar, its first defeat since 2009, with many in political circles claiming that the result would also indicate an electoral sweep against the Naveen Patnaik-led party ahead of the 2024 state polls. whether the scales were tipping or not. ,

The BJD has fielded the late MLA’s daughter Barsa from the seat, who is pitted against former BJP MLA Pradeep Purohit and Congress candidate and three-time MLA Satya Bhushan Sahu, among others.

Bhanupratappur in Chhattisgarh

The bypoll to Bhanupratappur seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Maoist-hit Kanker, was necessitated by the death of Congress MLA and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Manoj Singh Mandavi last month.

At least seven candidates are in the fray, though it is mainly a straight contest between the ruling Congress and the BJP.

The Congress has fielded Savitri Mandavi, wife of the late MLA, while the BJP’s candidate is former MLA Brahmanand Netam.

Sarva Adivasi Samaj, an umbrella organization of tribal communities in Bastar, has also fielded former Indian Police Service officer Akbar Ram Korram, who is contesting as an independent. Korram retired as Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in 2020.

Kurhani in Bihar

The success of former MLA JD(U) candidate Manoj Singh Kushwaha in Bihar’s Kurhani assembly constituency will strengthen the position of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, while his defeat may embolden his opponents. The JD(U) is contesting the seat where the bypoll has been necessitated due to the disqualification of RJD MLA Anil Kumar Sahni.

(With inputs from PTI)