Vote Counting Begins for Assembly Seats in Seven Indian States
The counting of votes for 13 legislative assembly seats across seven states in India started on Saturday morning. The polling took place on July 10 in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.
States and Constituencies
The by-elections were held in:
- Bihar: Rupauli
- West Bengal: Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, Maniktala
- Tamil Nadu: Vikravandi
- Madhya Pradesh: Amarwara
- Uttarakhand: Badrinath, Manglaur
- Punjab: Jalandhar West
- Himachal Pradesh: Dehra, Hamirpur, Nalagarh
Key Contests
The BJP and Congress are the main contenders in most seats, with TMC and DMK also participating. In Himachal Pradesh, 15 candidates, including Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur, are contesting. The bypolls in Himachal Pradesh were held due to the resignation of MLAs Hoshyar Singh, Ashish Sharma, and KL Thakur.
Voter Turnout
Himachal Pradesh saw a voter turnout between 63% and 75%. West Bengal recorded a 62.71% turnout. Uttarakhand’s Manglaur constituency witnessed violence but still had a 67.28% turnout. Bihar’s Rupauli seat had over 57% turnout. Madhya Pradesh’s Amarwara seat saw a 78.71% turnout. Tamil Nadu’s Vikravandi recorded an 82.48% turnout. Punjab’s Jalandhar West had a 55% turnout.
Notable Candidates
In Himachal Pradesh, Kamlesh Thakur is contesting in Dehra, Pushpinder Verma in Hamirpur, and Hardeep Singh Baba in Nalagarh. In West Bengal, the bypolls were held due to MLAs resigning to contest Lok Sabha elections. In Uttarakhand, Rajendra Bhandari (BJP) and Lakhpat Singh Butola (Congress) are contesting in Badrinath. In Bihar, the bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of MLA Bima Bharti. In Madhya Pradesh, the seat fell vacant after MLA Kamlesh Shah switched to BJP. In Tamil Nadu, DMK’s Anniyur Siva is contesting against PMK’s C Anbumani and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s K Abinaya. In Punjab, the seat fell vacant after AAP legislator Sheetal Angural joined BJP.
