Voting begins for Assembly bypolls in 4 states, key test for NDA and INDIA bloc
Voting for by-elections to five Assembly seats across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala will begin at 7 am today, June 19. Though the number of constituencies is limited, the stakes are significant for both the ruling NDA and the INDIA bloc, with several local-level prestige battles and alliance tensions coming to the fore.PUNJAB: AAP AIMS TO RETAIN LUDHIANA WESTIn Ludhiana (West), the bypoll has been scheduled owing to the death of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi. The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora to retain its hold on the urban seat. Arora faces Bharat Bhushan Ashu from Congress, Jiwan Gupta from BJP, and Parupkar Singh Ghumman from the Shiromani Akali Dal.advertisementThis contest is being closely watched not only for the seat itself but for its potential implications for the Rajya Sabha. A win for Arora may open the door for AAP to nominate former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal or his former deputy Manish Sisodia to the Upper House, though the party has denied such plans.
Campaigning saw top leaders from both camps in action, with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Arvind Kejriwal, and Atishi backing AAP, and BJP deploying Delhi and Haryana CMs Rekha Gupta and Nayab Singh Saini. Despite having fought the 2024 general elections in an alliance, AAP and Congress are pitted against each other in this crucial contest.WEST BENGAL: KALIGANJ VOTE SHAPED BY MINORITY OUTREACHIn West Bengal, the bypoll in Kaliganj follows the death of TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed. The ruling Trinamool Congress has fielded his daughter, Alifa Ahmed, in a move aimed at consolidating both women and minority voters. BJP has fielded Ashish Ghosh, a grassroots party functionary, while the Congress-Left alliance has nominated Kabil Uddin Sheikh.advertisementComing ahead of the 2026 assembly election and amid controversies such as the teacher recruitment scam, the Kaliganj bypoll holds symbolic weight for Mamata Banerjee's party. The TMC, which had wrested the seat from Congress in 2021, is confident of retaining its hold, while the Congress-Left front hopes to revive its rural base.GUJARAT: TRIANGULAR FIGHTS IN KADI AND VISAVADARBypolls in Gujarat are being held in Kadi and Visavadar. In Kadi, the seat fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Karsanbhai Solanki. BJP has fielded Rajendra Chavda, Congress has nominated Ramesh Chavda, and AAP has fielded Jagdish Chavda. The contest could reveal the Dalit community's voting patterns in the region.Visavadar saw its sitting MLA Bhayani Bhupendrabhai resign from AAP and join BJP. BJP has now fielded Kirit Patel, while Congress has put up Nitin Ranpariya. AAP has fielded prominent party leader Gopal Italia. The fight is expected to be triangular, with local dynamics and defections playing a key role.KERALA: NILAMBUR TURNS INTO MULTI-CORNERED CONTESTIn Nilambur, the bypoll comes less than a year before the next Assembly election in Kerala. The seat was vacated by P.V. Anvar, a two-time winner with Left backing who later aligned with the Congress before eventually entering the fray as an Independent.advertisementCongress has fielded Aryadan Shoukath, son of former MLA Aryadan Mohammed, while the ruling LDF has named M. Swaraj as its candidate. Anvar's candidacy, initially floated under the TMC banner, has added an unpredictable dimension to the contest. Nilambur, which falls under Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency now held by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has become a prestige seat for both alliances.Counting of votes for all five seats will take place on June 23.
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Congress names 40 district, city unit chiefs for Gujarat
After a process that lasted more than two months and saw senior Congress leaders visit 26 Lok Sabha constituencies, 182 Assembly segments, and 235 Blocks, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Saturday appointed 40 chiefs of district and city units for Gujarat under the the 'Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan' — a pilot project intended to empower the district units. The list saw only one woman leader, Sonal Patel, who will head the Ahmedabad City unit. Patel, a former vice president of the Congress Mahila Morcha was the candidate against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the 2024 LS polls from Gandhinagar constituency. She replaces former mayor and ex-MLA Himmatsinh Patel. 'Ahmedabad city president is a position that carries a lot of weight,' said a Congress leader. At least five of the DCC presidents were repeated — Rutvij Joshi (Vadodara city), Jashpalsinh Padhiyar (Vadodara district), Naushad Solanki (Surendranagar), Pratap Dudhat (Amreli), and Rajendrasinh Rana (Bharuch city). The party said the newly appointed DCC chiefs 'represent Gujarat's social and regional diversity and have been chosen for their grassroots connection, ideological clarity, and organisational ability'. At the AICC Session on April 9-10 in Gujarat, held in the state for the first time in about 60 years, district units were identified as key building blocks to build the Congress back-up. While this is a nationwide project, the Congress launched the pilot from Gujarat, a state where the party has been out of power now for 30 years and which is identified most closely with the BJP's rise post-Modi. The party on April 12 appointed 43 AICC and 183 PCC observers comprising senior leaders, including state in-charges, MPs, MLAs, and former PCC presidents, to oversee the appointments and make recommendations to the party high command. A statement issued on Saturday night by Congress general secretary in-charge (organisation) K C Venugopal said: 'The Abhiyan, launched to revitalise the party structure from booth to district level, focused on transparent, inclusive, and ideology-based leadership selection.' – With inputs from ENS Ahmedabad Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
With next year's panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh, parties gear up to test waters for 2027
ALTHOUGH PANCHAYAT elections in the state are not contested on symbols of political parties, considering the significant role played by the grassroot representatives in the Assembly elections, major political parties — both national and regional — have already begun preparations for the 2027 Assembly polls, treating the grassroots polls as a key battleground to show their strength. In the recent past, several parties, be it NDA allies such as Apna Dal, NISHAD party, SBSP or INDIA alliance partners such as the Congress, announced that candidates they support should be fielded separately. Although this sparked speculation over potential trouble for alliances for both the ruling BJP party and the INDIA alliance, leaders across party lines spoke to The Indian Express about the reasons for their parties to strongly pitch for supporting their own candidates in these polls while continuing with the alliances in the Assembly polls. A mammoth affair Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh are a mammoth affair, covering over 8 lakh posts, at different levels of panchayat. There are over 12 crore voters for the forthcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh. In the 2021 polls, elections were held for 7.32 lakh wards across 58,189 Gram Panchayats, 75,855 wards of 826 Kshetra Panchayats, and 3,051 members of 75 Zila Panchayats. Despite being held during the pandemic, parties like the BJP had officially declared their list of supported candidates. However, this time, it is not just the national parties but even the regional parties who are eying the polls to strengthen their ground and 'bargaining power'. With elections expected around January-February 2026, as per sources, preparations have begun much earlier. Why parties are keen on chipping in Both the NDA alliance partners and the INDIA alliance have emphasised the importance of clearly announcing their intention to contest these elections separately. They believe that strengthening their parties at the grassroots level is crucial, which includes supporting their grassroots workers, some of whom will contest these polls. To address concerns that their participation in these elections might negatively impact their alliance partners, these parties clarified that since the elections are not held under party symbols, they can still form alliances for assembly polls. They believe their ground strength will ultimately benefit their alliance partners. Additionally, some partners of the NDA expressed willingness to support BJP-backed candidates for chairman positions while allowing their own candidates to run for grassroots-level positions. 'It is a small election focused on the workers. For the BJP to return to power in 2027, it is essential that the workers stay active. If alliance partners like myself, Ashish Patel, or SBSP each have 10,000 supporters in any segment, then our combined efforts would benefit the alliance,' explained Sanjay Nishad, Chief of the NISHAD party and a minister in the state government. He cited an example from the previous panchayat elections, noting that the BJP and the NISHAD party had contested separately. In some segments of Sultanpur, candidates backed by the NISHAD party received more support than those from the BJP. However, when it came time for the Jila Panchayat Chairman election, most voters supported candidates aligned with the BJP. 'It is difficult for our workers to reach the level of contesting MLA elections, but these are their elections, and our candidates would certainly weaken the Samajwadi Party (SP),' he added. 'All smaller parties empower themselves, and we are also preparing for the panchayat elections,' said Apna Dal leader and Union Minister Anupriya Patel. She assured they would remain allied with NDA. Direct block pramukh elections this time? Uttar Pradesh's Panchayati Raj Minister and Chief of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Om Prakash Rajbhar, recently announced that following multiple discussions with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, an agreement has been reached to conduct Block Pramukh elections directly through public voting. At present, these elections are held indirectly, with candidates being selected by Block Development Committee members, which has led to concerns about corruption. Rajbhar said the chief minister has agreed to send this proposal to the central government. 'After four rounds of dialogue, he has given his approval for the proposal to be forwarded to the centre. The goal is to eliminate the influence of money and muscle power,' Rajbhar explained. Although an official decision is still pending, both NDA allies and opposition parties have expressed their support for the proposal. Sanjay Nishad affirmed their backing for direct elections, stating, 'This change would reduce the likelihood of candidates winning through financial means and provide opportunities for grassroots workers.' Previously, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has also backed this proposal. 'What do we, as opposition or regional parties, have to lose? It is the BJP that has a bigger stake in this election and faces significant infighting since they are in power. By contesting these elections independently, we can strengthen our presence on the ground. We have already asked all our leaders interested in running for the 2027 Assembly polls to identify and nominate their candidates for pradhans and other posts. This would not only enhance their chances but also represent the party effectively,' said a senior Congress leader. The ruling BJP has also begun its preparations by forming committees. These committees will aid in the ongoing delimitation process, which is being closely monitored by opposition parties. However, party leaders claim that their allies' decision to field candidates separately will not impact them. 'Every alliance partner has the right to grow and develop independently, and we see no issue with that. We are strong at the grassroots level,' said senior BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Left jobless, Karnataka bike-taxi captains urge govt to allow operations
Bengaluru: Rendered jobless and pushed to the brink, hundreds of bike-taxi captains took to the streets across the state Saturday, protesting the govt's continued indecision on legalising their operations. They demanded that the govt come up with a policy framework that would legalise bike taxis in the state. Not just have our livelihoods being snatched away because of the bike-taxi ban but also commuters, who are dependent on cheaper and faster travel options, have been put to hardship, they said while stating that they have no option but to stage protests against the govt, especially the transport dept which has cracked down on them. The affected captains include professionals who saw bike taxis as a means of livelihood and students who were earning pocket money by dropping off people. The captains took out protest rallies in Bengaluru, Kanakapura, Ramanagara, Mandya, Hassan, Tumakuru and Shivamogga. They urged the govt to allow them to operate on the lines of autorickshaw drivers instead of buckling under pressure from the latter, who were wooed by Congress before coming to power. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo In Bengaluru, the captains were met with detention. Police foiled a planned gathering in front of Vidhana Soudha by dispersing them and detaining several protesters as a preventive measure. Deputy commissioner of police (Central) Akshay M Hakay said police had to act as it amounted to unlawful assembly. A bike-taxi captain from Tumakuru said, "We wanted to gather at Vidhana Soudha and appeal to the govt to frame a policy legalising bike taxis. But police didn't even allow us... We were in hundreds when we left Tumakuru, but most were stopped near the toll gate before entering Bengaluru. Very few managed to reach the city." Explaining the ordeals faced by them after the ban on bike taxis, a captain who identified himself as Rajkumar said: "For two years, I earned Rs 1,000-1,500 per day by riding my bike as a taxi in the traffic-choked city. It paid my rent, my child's school fees, and groceries. Today, I have nothing. We are not criminals. We're just asking for the right to work." The captains argue that the crackdown, triggered by the transport department's ban on bike taxis through aggregators like Rapido, Uber, and Ola from June 16 by citing court orders, was unjust, especially when no viable alternatives have been provided. Over 100 bikes have already been seized by the department in the ongoing crackdown. The bike-taxi captains said they're willing to play by the rules — using yellow-board bikes, wearing uniforms, and collecting govt-fixed fares. But in return, they want a legal pathway to operate. "We're ready to follow all regulations. Just let us work," said Manu, another captain from Ramanagara. "After the ban, they shifted us to parcel deliveries. We earn Rs 30 per parcel. That's not a livelihood, that's humiliation," he added. What angers the captains the most is the silence of the govt, especially the transport department. They alleged that the crackdown is being carried out under pressure from autorickshaw and cab driver unions. A captain added: "We've sent many appeals to elected leaders including transport minister Ramalinga Reddy, but there's been no positive response."
