Today, the results for bypolls held in five seats across four states namely Gujarat, Punjab, Kerala, and Bengal will be announced. Counting starts at 8 am, and we’ll get the first updates soon after. These bypolls happened on June 19, with two seats in Gujarat (Visavadar and Kadi), and one each in Punjab (Ludhiana West), Bengal (Kaliganj), and Kerala (Nilambur).
These elections are seen as important because they give a hint of how the bigger Assembly elections might go in these states. Both the BJP-led NDA and the INDIA alliance have put up candidates.
In Gujarat, the BJP is trying to win back the Visavadar seat, which they haven’t held since 2007. The seat became vacant last year after Bhupendra Bhayani from AAP resigned and joined BJP. For this seat, BJP has chosen Kirit Patel, Congress has Nitin Ranpariya, and AAP is backing Gopal Italia, a former Gujarat president of their party. The Kadi seat is empty since February due to the passing of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki. This seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, is in Mehsana district. BJP’s candidate is Rajendra Chavda, Congress has Ramesh Chavda, and AAP’s candidate is Jagdish Chavda.
In Kerala, Nilambur is a key battleground, especially for Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, since it’s part of her Wayanad constituency. She even held a roadshow there before the polls. The seat became vacant after OV Anvar, a two-time MLA who had shifted from Left to Congress, ran as an Independent in this bypoll. The Left Democratic Front has put forward M Swaraj, Congress-backed United Democratic Front supports Aryadan Shoukath, and BJP’s candidate is Advocate Mohan George.
In Bengal, Kaliganj (in Nadia district) had a bypoll after the Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed passed away in February. His daughter, Alifa Ahamed, is trying to keep the seat for Trinamool. BJP’s candidate is Ashis Ghosh, and Congress chose Kabil Uddin Shaikh, who has CPI(M) support. This election is seen as a key fight between Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool and the BJP ahead of next year’s big Assembly elections.
In Punjab’s Ludhiana West, the seat fell vacant after AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi died by suicide in January. AAP wants to hold on to this seat as it tries to stay strong in Punjab after a tough time in Delhi elections. BJP wants to win here too. The main candidates are AAP’s Sanjeev Arora, BJP’s Jeewan Gupta, Congress’s Bharat Bhushan Ashu, and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Parupkar Singh Ghuman.
