Nomination process ends for bypolls to 47 assembly seats in 13 states

PTI, Oct 25, 2024, 8:36 PM IST

Lucknow/Jaipur: With the filing of nominations for bypolls to 47 seats spread across 13 states ending Friday, a big test awaits the opposition INDIA bloc in this crucial showdown with the BJP.

Voting will be held on November 13 in nine seats of Uttar Pradesh, seven seats in Rajasthan, six seats in West Bengal, five seats in Assam, four seats each in Bihar and Punjab, three seats in Karnataka, two seats each in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Meghalaya. Bypoll will also be conducted in the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat that day.

Most of the seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha as MPs while in some constituencies, the bypolls are being held due to death of the representatives.

The INDIA bloc, which failed to put up a united fight in the recently-held Haryana assembly polls resulting in the BJP winning comfortably, could not agree on a seat-sharing arrangement in Uttar Pradesh for the bypolls.

The Samajwadi Party is finally contesting on all the nine seats with the Congress deciding to opt out though it announced it will hold “joint campaigns” with its ally.

In Uttar Pradesh, bypolls are being held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Kundarki, Phulpur, Sisamau, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Kahir.

Eight of these seats fell vacant after their MLAs fought the Lok Sabha elections and won, while bypoll in Sisamau is being held due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case.

The BJP left the Meerapur seat in Muzaffarnagar for its ally RLD. The BJP put up candidates in all the remaining eight seats, an apparent slight to its other ally Nishad Party that had earlier staked claim to two seats -“ Majahawan in Mirzapur and Katehari in Ambedkarnagar.

Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad, however, sought to downplay this, saying he wants victory for the NDA and not “seats”.

Those from the SP who filed nominations are Tej Pratap Yadav (Karhal), Naseem Solanki (Sisamau), Mustafa Siddiqui (Phulpur), Shobhawati Verma (Katehari), Jyodi Bind (Majhwan), Sumbul Rana (Meerapur), Mohammad Rizwan (Kundarki), Sigh Raj Jatav (Ghaziabad) and Charu Kain (Khair).

The BJP candidates are – Ramvir Singh Thakur (Kundarki), Sanjeev Sharma (Ghaziabad), Surendra Diler (Khair), Anujesh Yadav (Karhal), Deepak Patel (Phulpur), Dharmraj Nishad (Katehari), Suchismita Maurya (Majhawan) and Suresh Awasthi (Sisamau). The RLD named Mithilesh Pal from Meerapur.

In Karnataka, JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy filed his nomination from Channapatna, a seat vacated by his father and Union minister H D Kumaraswamy after being elected to Lok Sabha. Bypolls will also be held in Shiggaon and Sandur after Basavaraj Bommai (BJP) and E Tukaram (Congress) resigned following their victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP candidate Sohan Singh Thandal and Congress nominee Jatinder Kaur were among those who filed their nominations in Punjab, where voting will be held for the Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC), Gidderbaha, and Barnala seats.

A total of 38 candidates have filed their nominations for the five seats in Assam – Dholai, Behali, Samaguri, Bongaigaon and Sidli.

The BJP is contesting in three seats leaving the rest two for its alliance partners AGP and UPPL. The Congress is contesting all the five constituencies.

In Rajasthan, bypolls will be held in Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khinvsar, Chaurasi, Salumbar and Ramgarh.

In West Bengal, bypolls will be held in Sitai (SC), Madarihat (ST), Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur and Taldangra.

The other seats going to bypolls are Ramgarh, Tarari, Imamganj and Belaganj in Bihar, Budhni and Vijaypur in Madhya Pradesh, Soreng-Chakhung and Namchi-Singhithang in Sikkim, Palakkad and Chelakkara in Kerala, Vav in Gujarat, Raipur City South in Chhattisgarh and Gambegre (ST) in Meghalaya.

The Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the bypoll from Wayanad. Bypolls for the Kedarnath assembly seat in Uttarakhand and the Nanded Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra will be held on November 20.

Bypolls are also scheduled for the Basirhat parliamentary seat in West Bengal and Milkipur assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh, but have not been announced as election petitions have been filed for both the seats.