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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
5 Assembly bypolls in 4 states largely peaceful; Nilambur sees 73% turnout
Bypolls were held in five Assembly segments across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala on Thursday, with the Nilambur seat in Kerala registering a voter turnout of 73.26% and Ludhiana West in Punjab recording a polling percentage of 51.33%. The bypolls to the Assembly seats of Kadi in Gujarat's Mehsana district and Visavadar in Junagadh were peaceful and recorded around 57.90% and 56.89% turnout, respectively, on Thursday, said a release from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer. Kadi bypoll was necessitated following the death of BJP MLA Karshan Solanki in February this year. The seat is reserved for the SC communities and a total of eight candidates were in the fray. The BJP fielded Rajendra Chavda and the Congress picked a former MLA from the same seat, Ramesh Chavda. AAP nominated Jagdish Chavda. In Visavadar seat, bypoll was necessitated after AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned in December 2023 and later joined the BJP. In the polls, however, the party fielded former Junagadh district president and local cooperative leader, Kirit Patel against AAP's senior leader Gopal Italia and Congress's Nitin Ranpariya. The bypolls in Ludhiana West saw the lowest turnout since 2007 at 51.33%, as polling remained largely peaceful in this urban constituency of Punjab, barring a few incidents. In 2007, the polling was 58.92%, while the highest turnout was recorded in 2012 at 69.66%. The bypoll was necessitated after AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi died in January this year. In West Bengal, Kaliganj bypoll recorded a turnout of 69.85% amid peaceful voting. However, the Election Commission has sought a report from the presiding officer after taking cognisance of reports that the BJP candidate for Kaliganj seat, Ashish Ghosh, made a vulgar gesture after casting his vote Thursday The EC has also sought the CCTV footage of the booth. Meanwhile, both the BJP and the Congress accused the ruling TMC of 'terrorising' polling agents of their parties. The poll panel deployed 14 companies of central forces for the bypolls in the seat. In the fray are Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Sheikh, backed by the Left Front, TMC's Alifa Ahmed, apart from BJP's Ghosh. The bypoll was necessitated due to the demise of Alifa Ahmed's father Nasiruddin Ahamed in February this year. Voting in the Nilambur bypoll in Kerala saw a steady turnout during the day, but slowed down towards evening and crossed the 70% mark at 5 pm. The turnout was 73.26% according to the latest figures by the EC. In the 2021 assembly polls, the turnout was 75.20%. Among the 10 candidates, the key contenders are ruling LDF pick M Swaraj, Aryadan Shoukath (Congress-led UDF), TMC state convener and independent candidate P V Anvar, and Mohan George of the BJP-led NDA. The bypoll was necessitated following Anvar's resignation as MLA from Nilambur. Counting of votes is on June 23. With PTI inputs
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Gujarat: Over 56% voting in Kadi, Visavadar bypolls; counting of votes on June 23
The by-elections to the Assembly constituencies of Kadi in Mehsana district and Visavadar in Junagadh recorded approximately 57.90% and 56.89% polling, respectively, on Thursday, said a release from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer. The voting got completed in a 'peaceful atmosphere', the official release added. Counting of votes will be done on June 23. The release stated that the approximate voter turnout is as per data uploaded till 7 pm. The state government had declared a holiday on Thursday for the two constituencies for voting. The polling started at 7 am and concluded at 6 pm. The bypoll of Kadi assembly constituency was necessitated after it fell vacant following the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Karshan Solanki in February this year. The seat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste communities and a total of eight candidates were in the fray in the electoral battle. The BJP has fielded Rajendra Chavda on the seat whereas the Congress has nominated a former MLA from the same seat, Ramesh Chavda, as its candidate for Kadi. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated Jagdish Chavda for the seat. At Visavadar constituency, the by-election was necessitated after sitting MLA from AAP, Bhupendra Bhayani, resigned from the seat in December 2023 and later joined the BJP. All eyes were on the BJP to see if it would field Bhayani on the seat or not. Eventually, the party nominated its former Junagadh district president and local cooperative leader, Kirit Patel, from the seat. The BJP is facing a challenge from AAP's senior leader Gopal Italia and Congress's Nitin Ranpariya on the seat. The AAP has apparently thrown its weight behind the candidate in the Visavadar constituency with its top national leadership, including former Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi, and current Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, joining Italia as he filed his nomination papers. In the past, Visavadar was represented by former CM Keshubhai Patel. This time, the Praja Shakti Democratic Party (PSDP), launched by former CM Shankersinh Vaghela, has also nominated candidates for both the seats. At present, the 182-member Gujarat Assembly has 161 MLAs of the BJP, followed by 12 of the Congress, and four of the AAP. While the Samajwadi Party (SP) has one legislator, two other MLAs are independents.
