Voting begins for by-elections to 6 assembly seats in Bengal

Kolkata, Nov 13 (PTI) Polling for by-elections to six assembly seats in West Bengal started at 7 AM on Wednesday, amid tight security arrangements, an official said.
    Voting will continue till 5 PM, he added.
    The by-polls are being held in Sitai, Madarihat, Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur and Taldangra assembly constituencies in West Bengal.
    Notably, five of these constituencies are in the TMC strongholds of south Bengal, while Madarihat remains a BJP bastion in the northern part of the state.
    Altogether 108 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed for the by-elections.
    The bypolls were necessitated following the resignations of MLAs who were elected to the Lok Sabha in the general elections this year.
    Both the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP have fielded candidates for all six seats.
    The CPI (M)-led Left Front and the Congress are contesting the by-elections separately for the first time since 2021, following a recent change in the Bengal Congress leadership.
    The Left Front has announced candidates for five of the six seats, including one CPI(ML) nominee.
    The Congress has fielded candidates in all six assembly segments.
    Votes will be counted on November 23.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)