In Bengal’s Dhupguri, CPM and Congress have joined forces to take on Trinamool
New Delhi:
The results for bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states will be declared on Friday in what is being seen as a major test for the opposition alliance INDIA against the BJP-led NDA ahead of the polls in five states later this year and Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Here are the latest trends:
The seven seats that went to the polls earlier this month are Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura. The counting of votes began at 8 am.
Congress snatched an early lead over the BJP in the Bageshwar assembly bypoll, with its candidate Basant Kumar leading by 195 votes over the BJP’s Parvati Das in the initial round of counting on Thursday.
Opposition UDF candidate Chandy Oommen is leading in the initial rounds of counting in the Puthuppally assembly bypoll in Kerala’s Kottayam.
Son of late Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy, he has been far ahead of his nearest co-contestants.
The BJP won the by-elections to the Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura’s Sepahijala district, according to the Election Commission.
BJP’s Tafajjal Hossain won the Boxanagar seat, which has around 66 per cent minority voters, by 30,237 votes. Mr Hossain got 34,146 votes, while his nearest rival Mizan Hossain of the CPI(M) got 3,909 votes.
Bindu Debnath bagged the Dhanpur seat, which has a significant tribal population, by 18,871 votes. Mr Debnath got 30,017 votes, and his nearest rival Kaushik Chanda of the CPI(M) got 11,146 votes.
Among the seven seats, Dhanpur, Bageshwar and Dhupguri were held by the BJP. The seats in UP and Jharkhand were held by Samajwadi Party and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, respectively. Tripura’s Boxanagar seat and Kerala’s Puthupally were with the CPM and the Congress, respectively.
The Ghosi seat was vacated after sitting legislator and OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan rejoined the BJP. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party is now trying to retain control on Ghosi.
In Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar, the bypolls were held after the death of four-time MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April. Kerala’s Puthupally seat was vacated by the death of former Chief Minister and Congress veteran Oommen Chandy.
In Tripura, the CPM has announced that it will boycott the counting. It has alleged large-scale malpractice during voting in the two constituencies.
In West Bengal’s Dhupguri, the CPM and Congress have joined forces to take on the ruling Trinamool. Incidentally, all the three parties are part of the INDIA bloc.
