New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- Counting of votes for by-elections in five Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat is underway on Friday, October 9, across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Assam. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in West Bengal's Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly seats and Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency, while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is ahead in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, according to the latest counting trends.
In Puducherry, All India NR Congress (AINRC) candidate Ashok Anand has won the Thattanchavady Assembly bypoll. He defeated Congress candidate E Vinayagam by 8,482 votes, according to the Election Commission's website. In West Bengal's Nandigram, BJP candidate Hasi Rani Rath has established a substantial lead over Congress candidate Milan Pradhan. Rath was ahead by 27,450 votes after three rounds of counting, with Pradhan having secured 7,370 votes at that stage. The constituency fell vacant after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari retained Bhabanipur and gave up the Nandigram seat.
The BJP is also ahead in Rejinagar, where its candidate Shankharavh Sarkar has built a lead over Congress candidate Abdullahil Kafi. Aam Janata Unnayan Party candidate Golam Nabi Azad, son of party chief Humayun Kabir, was in third place in the early trends. The seat became vacant after Kabir retained Naoda following his victory from both constituencies in the Assembly election. In Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency, BJP candidate Devasish Sharma is leading by more than 50,000 votes. AIUDF candidate Mohammed Badruddin Ajmal is trailing, while Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora has moved to third place in the latest reported trends. The bypoll was necessitated after Pradyut Bordoloi vacated the seat following his election from Dispur on a BJP ticket.
In Tamil Nadu, TVK candidates are leading in both Assembly constituencies. K Maragatham Kumaravel is ahead in Madurantakam, while Sathyabama P has taken the lead in Dharapuram after a closely contested start to counting. Both seats were vacated after AIADMK legislators resigned and joined the ruling TVK. The results are being closely watched as an electoral test for the BJP in West Bengal following its rise to power in the state, and for Vijay's TVK government in Tamil Nadu. The Nandigram and Rejinagar contests are also taking place amid allegations of voter intimidation and polling irregularities. The Congress has sought repolling in the two West Bengal constituencies, while the Election Commission described polling as largely peaceful. Counting trends remain subject to change until the final results are declared.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.