Bypolls peaceful, results on September 8

Bypolls to 6 Assembly seats held peacefully; counting of votes on Sepember 8. 49% polling in Ghosi, U.P. where BJP and SP in high stakes battle. 63.75% in Dumri, Jharkhand. 72.91% in Puthuppally, Kerala. 55.42% in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand. 76% in Dhupguri, West Bengal. 76% in Dhanpur & Boxanagar, Tripura. No major untoward incidents reported.

Bypolls to various Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tripura and Uttarakhand were held by and large peacefully on Tuesday. Election Commission of India (ECI) officials said no major untoward incidents were reported from the constituencies where polls were held. The counting of votes is scheduled on September 8.

Voting for the Ghosi Assembly bypoll in Uttar Pradesh ended amid allegations by the Samajwadi Party (SP) that the ruling BJP had misused administrative machinery. At 5 p.m., the EC recorded more than 49% polling. The high stakes bypoll is the first electoral contest in U.P. after the formation of the Opposition Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc. The BJP refuted the charges made by the SP, and said the Opposition had already accepted defeat.

The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Dara Singh Chauhan, who had won the seat in the 2022 polls from the SP but joined the BJP recently. SP candidate Sudhakar Singh is fighting against Mr. Chauhan. Mr. Chauhan, an Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader, is banking upon OBC-Scheduled Caste (SC) unity to sail him through.

The Ghosi bypoll is also considered crucial in view of the changing political dynamic in the State, with the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), a Rajbhar OBC-centric party joining hands with the BJP, and amid talks of more MLAs of the SP being in touch with the BJP.

The byelection to the Dumri Assembly seat in Jharkhand was also conducted peacefully, according to Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar. Till 5 p.m., 63.75% of 2.28 lakh voters had exercised their franchise, Mr. Kumar said. However, the final report was expected late on Tuesday evening. While speaking to the media in Ranchi, Mr. Kumar said that polling at all 373 booths had been conducted peacefully.

The poll was necessitated after the death of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA and former Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto. The JMM has fielded Mahto’s wife Bebi Devi as the nominee of INDIA grouping, while the All Jharkhand Student’s Union (AJSU) has fielded Yashoda Devi as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate.

The byelection in the Puthuppally Assembly constituency, where the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) are locked in a pitched battle, registered a rather moderate voter turnout on Tuesday. According to the provisional estimates released by the district election authority, the segment recorded a polling percentage of 72.91%. The final polling figure, however, will be released only later.