Bypolls 2024: Priyanka in Wayanad; spotlight on Shivraj Chouhan's Budhni

Assembly bypolls to 31 constituencies is underway, mostly vacated following the resignations of MLAs who were elected to the Lok Sabha in the elections

Voting is underway for the bypolls in Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday, from where senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is marking her political debut. Bypolls in Wayanad were necessitated after Rahul Gandhi resigned from the seat he won in the June Lok Sabha polls. He chose Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli seat.

 

Besides Wayanad, the first phase of the Assembly elections in Jharkhand is also underway. Moreover, Assembly bypolls to 31 constituencies are also being conducted by the Election Commission today, most of which were triggered following the resignations of MLAs who were elected to the Lok Sabha in the elections. 

 

Wayanad Lok Sabha bypolls

Gandhi is up against Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate Satyan Mokeri and Navya Haridas of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With her potential victory, the Gandhi family will have a strengthened position in the Parliament, where Rahul and Sonia Gandhi are already MPs.

 

Besides Wayanad, Kerala’s Chelakkara Assembly seat is also up for bypolls.

Bypolls on 31 Assembly seats across many states

1) West Bengal: In Bengal, six Assembly constituencies are undergoing bypolls on Wednesday. These include Sitai, Madarihat, Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, and Taldangra. This marks the first instance when the Congress and CPI (M)-led Left Front are not contesting the polls in an alliance since 2021.

 

2) Karnataka: The Assembly seats Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna are holding bypolls.

 

3) Assam: Polling will be held for the Samaguri, Behali, Bongaigaon, Sidli, and Dholai seats.

 

4)  Bihar: Voting process is underway for bypolls to Tarari, Imamganj, Belaganj and Ramgarh assembly seats. A total of 38 candidates are in the fray on these four seats, where 1.2 million voters are present.

 

5) Rajasthan: Bypolls are underway on seven seats to elect members to the Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan. These include Ramgarh, Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Chorasi, Khinvsar and Salumbar.

 

6) Madhya Pradesh: Key assembly constituency of Budhni is holding bypolls after Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan vacated this seat following his victory in the Lok Sabha elections. MP’s Vijaypur seat is also conducting bypolls. The BJP has nominated Chouhan’s close aide Ramakant Bhargava as the poll candidate.

 

Bypolls for vacant seats in other states, including Punjab and Uttar Pradesh will be held on November 20. Jharkhand’s phase two election will also be held on this day, alongside Maharashtra’s single phase polls. The results of all the elections will be announced on November 23.