 "Vote counting")
Counting of votes for seven assembly seats across six states that went to by-polls on Tuesday (September 5) was taken up at centres set up in the respective states on Friday.
The seven seats that went to polls included Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Bindu Debnath defeated the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s Kaushik Chanda in Tripura by over 18,000 votes, Congress' Chandy Ommen won by over 36,000 votes in Kerala.
The BJP also triumphed in Tripura's Boxanagar, where Tafajjal Hossain defeated CPI(M) candidate Mizan Hossain by nearly 30,000 votes. The saffron party retained the Bageshwar seat in Uttarakhand, where Parwati Dass defeated Congress candidate Basant Kumar by more than 2,400 votes.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha candidate Bebi Devi won the Dumri by-polls by a margin of over 17,000 votes, defeating All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) Party's Yashoda Devi, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy won the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal and defeated the BJP's Tapasa Roy by over 4,300 votes.
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The by-poll results are considered a litmus test for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the five state assembly elections scheduled later this year and the crucial Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Voter turnout
While the BJP held the Bageshwar, Dhupguri, and Dhanpur seats, the Ghosi seat was held by the Samajwadi Party (SP), Boxanagar by the CPI(M), Dumri by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and Puthuppally by the Congress.
In Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi Assembly constituency, only 49.42 per cent of electorates voted for the by-election on Tuesday.
Jharkhand's Dumri recorded a 64.84 per cent turnout, while Bageshwar in Uttarakhand saw a turnout of 55.35 per cent.
On the other hand, Tripura's Boxanagar and Dhanpur recorded 86.34 per cent and 81.88 per cent voter turnout, respectively, while Bengal's Dhupguri registered 74.35 per cent.
Candidates fielded in the by-poll election 2023
Uttar Pradesh
The by-poll in Ghosi was necessitated after Dara Singh Chauhan, who had won the seat in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, came back to the BJP after resigning from the Samajwadi Party.
The BJP selected Chauhan to contest the by-poll.
The Samajwadi Party, on the other hand, fielded Sudhakar Singh to contest against Chauhan.
Tripura
In Tripura's Dhanpur, the bye-election was necessitated after the BJP's Pratima Bhoumik resigned to retain her Lok Sabha seat, leaving the assembly seat vacant.
Bhoumik's brother Bindu Debnath fought for the BJP against CPI(M) candidate Kaushik Chanda in Dhanpur for the bypolls.
In Tripura's Boxanagar, the BJP and CPI(M) contested against each other as the seat fell vacant after the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque.
Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand's Bageshwar seat, the battle was between the Samajwadi Party, Congress, and the BJP. The death of BJP MLA Chandan Ram Das prompted a by-election in Bageshwar.
Kerala
Congress veteran Oomen Chandy's death necessitated the bypolls in Kerala's Puthupally seat. Congress fielded Oommen Chandy's son, Chandy Oomen, while the ruling party CPI(M) fielded Jaick C Thomas from this constituency.
Jharkhand
The bypoll in Jharkhand's Dumri was necessitated after the death of JMM MLA Jagarnath Mahto.
JMM fielded Mahto's wife, Bebi Devi, who represented the INDIA bloc against the NDA's Yashoda Devu and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Abdul Rizvi.
West Bengal
In West Bengal's Dhupguri, the bye-election was necessary after the death of the BJP's Bishnu Pada Ray.
Tapas Ray from the BJP contested against Nirma Chandra Roy and CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy.
(With PTI inputs)
