Voting has commenced for the byelections to 13 Assembly seats across seven states on Wednesday, marking the first electoral event post the Lok Sabha elections. These bypolls will determine the political fate of several incumbent leaders and new contenders, including Kamlesh Thakur, the wife of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The assembly constituencies where polling is currently underway include Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala in West Bengal; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh; Rupauli in Bihar; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh.
These byelections have been necessitated due to vacancies arising from the demise or resignation of incumbent legislators.
In West Bengal, the stakes are particularly high for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), looking to build upon its electoral gains from the recent Lok Sabha polls. Conversely, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims to capitalize on its strong performance in the parliamentary elections, where it secured significant leads in four constituencies—Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala. Notably, the BJP MLAs from these seats later switched allegiance to the TMC.
The bypoll in Maniktala follows the passing of TMC MLA Sadhan Pandey in February 2022. Pandey’s wife, Supti Pandey, is contesting on behalf of the TMC, while candidates like Krishna Kalyani, Mukut Mani Adhikari, and Madhuparna Thakur are also prominent contenders.
In Himachal Pradesh, byelections are being held in Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh following the resignation of three Independent legislators who supported the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls. The BJP has renominated these former MLAs, with the Congress countering by fielding Kamlesh Thakur from Dehra.
The byelections across these states are pivotal, setting the stage for potential shifts in political dynamics and reflecting the evolving electoral landscape ahead of future state and national elections.
