Bypolls will be held across six states today, with some crucial seats in play. Elections will be held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi, Tripura and Andhra Pradesh, with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha among the candidates.
Uttar Pradesh
Polling began on Thursday morning in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh and Rampur, the Lok Sabha seats considered as the bastions of the opposition Samajwadi Party in the state. Over 35 lakh people are eligible to vote in the bypolls and will be deciding the fate of 19 candidates. The bypolls to the Azamgarh seat were necessitated by the resignation of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly as an MLA in the elections earlier this year. The Rampur seat was vacated by senior SP leader Azam Khan, who too was elected to the state assembly. The polling started at 7am and will continue till 6pm.
Jharkhand
Polling began at 7am on Thursday for the bypoll to Mandar assembly seat in Jharkhand's Ranchi district amid tight security arrangements. Voting is taking place in 433 polling stations, with 141 booths having been declared hyper-sensitive, 218 as sensitive, and 55 as vulnerable, he said, adding polling will continue till 4pm. Over 3.54 lakh voters, including 1.75 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election to decide the electoral fate of 14 candidates in the fray. The votes will be counted on June 26. More than 3,000 security personnel, including Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP), CRPF, and SSB, have been deployed.
Tripura
By-elections to four assembly seats in Tripura began at 7am on Thursday amid tight security arrangements. Polling to the Agartala, Town Bardowali, Surma and Jubarajnagar seats is taking place in 221 booths, and it will continue till 5pm. Chief Minister Manik Saha, who is not a member of the assembly, is contesting from Town Bardowali constituency against Congress nominee Asish Saha. The by-elections in Agartala and Town Bardowali constituencies were necessitated after Sudip Roy Barman and Asish Saha quit as BJP MLAs and joined the Congress in February.
Delhi
Voting began Thursday morning for the bypoll to Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, largely being seen as a battle between a confident AAP and a spirited BJP for the crucial assembly constituency. A total of 1,64,698 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll, in which 14 candidates are in the fray, with water shortage and the city government's liquor policy among the key election issues. The two major contenders, the AAP and the BJP, have exuded confidence that their candidates will emerge victorious in the bypoll with a huge margin. Polling began at 7am amid tight security arrangements and is scheduled to be held till 6pm.
Punjab
Voting began Thursday morning for the bypoll to the Punjab's Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, where the ruling AAP is facing its first test of popularity after its impressive performance in the assembly elections. Amid tight security, the polling began at 8 am and will continue till 6 pm. There are 15,69,240 eligible voters—8,30,056 men, 7,39,140 women and 44 from transgender community—in the Sangrur parliamentary constituency. A total of 16 candidates, including three women, are in the fray.
Andhra Pradesh
The ruling YSR Congress feels the ongoing bypolls for Atmakuru Assembly constituency, in SPS Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, will be a cakewalk for it, but the BJP is determined to give a tough fight. Though on paper there are 14 candidates in the fray, the contest is only between the YSRC and the BJP. Going by tradition, where the rival party does not put up its candidate in the event of death of a sitting legislature, the Telugu Desam opted out of the by-poll contest. While the BJP could bank on its political ally Jana Sena's backing, it might also benefit from the tacit support of TDP, given the caste and other equations in the constituency. The by-election for the Assembly seat has been caused due to the death of sitting legislator and then Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy in February this year.