GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 23rd June: The counting of votes is currently underway for by-elections held on June 19 to five Assembly constituencies across four states — Gujarat, Punjab, Kerala, and West Bengal. The bypolls were necessitated due to the deaths or resignations of sitting MLAs.
Gujarat saw polling in Visavadar and Kadi seats, with voter turnouts of 56.89% and 57.90% respectively. The Visavadar seat features a high-stakes contest with BJP’s Kirit Patel up against AAP’s Gopal Italia and Congress’ Nitin Ranpariya. In Kadi, BJP’s Rajendra Chavda is facing off against Congress’ Ramesh Chavda and AAP’s Jagdish Chavda, marking a triangular battle.
In Punjab, the Ludhiana West seat recorded a turnout of 51.33%. The seat has become a point of intense speculation as AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora is contesting. A win for Arora has sparked rumours about the possibility of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being nominated to the Rajya Sabha. However, the AAP leadership has denied any such move. Arora is pitted against Congress’ Bharat Bhushan Ashu, BJP’s Jiwan Gupta, and SAD’s Parupkar Singh Ghumman. Counting is taking place at Khalsa College for Women.
In Kerala’s Nilambur, which saw the highest turnout of 75.27%, the contest is being viewed as a litmus test for the ruling LDF ahead of next year’s Assembly polls. The LDF has fielded M. Swaraj, while Aryadan Shoukath represents the UDF. TMC’s P.V. Anvar and Mohan George from the BJP-led NDA are also in the fray.
West Bengal’s Kaliganj recorded a 69.85% voter turnout. The triangular contest there features Congress-Left alliance candidate Kabil Uddin Sheikh, TMC’s Alifa Ahmed, and BJP’s Ashish Ghosh.
The outcomes of these bypolls are expected to offer key insights into the political mood ahead of upcoming state and general elections.
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