Congress Leads in Key Seats Across India as Vote Counting Continues
New Delhi, India – As the counting of votes progresses, the Congress party is leading in several important seats across different states. In Himachal Pradesh, Congress is ahead in the Nalagarh and Dehra seats, with Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, leading with 6,115 votes. In Uttarakhand, Congress is leading in the Badrinath and Manglaur seats, while in Madhya Pradesh, Dheeran Invati is ahead in the Awarwara seat with 4,541 votes.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in the Hamirpur constituency of Himachal Pradesh with Ashish Sharma ahead by 743 votes. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is leading in all four West Bengal seats, with Krishna Kalyani taking a significant lead in Raiganj. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has won the Jalandhar West seat in Punjab, and the Janata Dal (United) (JDU) is leading in Bihar’s Rupauli seat. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is leading in the Vikravandi seat of Tamil Nadu.
By-Elections Across Seven States
The counting of votes for 13 legislative assembly seats across seven states began on Saturday morning. Polling took place on July 10 for seats in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh. The Election Commission held by-elections in one seat each in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, two seats in Uttarakhand, three seats in Himachal Pradesh, and four seats in West Bengal.
High Voter Turnout and Key Contests
West Bengal saw a voter turnout of 62.71% in the bypolls for four assembly constituencies. In Uttarakhand, despite an outbreak of violence in the Manglaur assembly constituency, a high polling percentage of 67.28% was recorded. The Badrinath bypoll was contested between BJP’s Rajendra Bhandari and Congress newcomer Lakhpat Singh Butola.
In Bihar, over 57% of voters participated in the bypoll for the Rupauli assembly seat. The Amarwara (ST) assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara saw a voter turnout of 78.71%. The Vikravandi assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu recorded a voter turnout of 82.48%. In Punjab, a 55% voter turnout was recorded in the Jalandhar West assembly bypoll.
