NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) will conduct byelections on Tuesday for five assembly seats and one Lok Sabha constituency across three states and the Union territory of Puducherry, with vote counting scheduled for Friday.The constituencies going to the polls are Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu, Thattanchavady in Puducherry, Rejinagar and Nandigram in West Bengal, and Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam.The bypolls come amid growing scrutiny of the Election Commission (EC) over reported differences between Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The Indian Express reported last month that Sandhu and Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions they claimed were taken without their knowledge.The report triggered protests seeking Kumar’s resignation, even as the EC maintained that all decisions had been taken unanimously by the CEC and the Election Commissioners. The issue has also reached the Supreme Court, which took up a petition seeking Kumar’s removal, and issued notices to the EC and the Centre.However, the Chief Justice Surya Kant-led bench declined to pass an interim order, observing that it could not do so based solely on a media report whose accuracy remained uncertain.
Will Vijay’s ‘magic’ charm Tamil Nadu again
The bypolls in Madurantakam and Dharapuram will be the first major electoral test for chief minister C Joseph Vijay since his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) came to power following the April assembly elections, just two years after the party was launched. A total of 27 candidates are contesting in Madurantakam, while 30 are in the fray in Dharapuram.The vacancies arose after AIADMK MLAs Maragatham Kumaravel of Madurantakam and P Sathyabama of Dharapuram resigned from their seats. Both subsequently joined TVK and have been fielded by the party in the bypolls.The DMK, led by former chief minister MK Stalin, as well as the AIADMK and CPI, have also fielded candidates. The CPI is among the parties that supported TVK after it emerged as the single-largest party, paving the way for it to form the government.
Suvendu Adhikari on test in West Bengal
In West Bengal, the focus is on Nandigram, which fell vacant after Suvendu Adhikari, now the BJP’s first chief minister in the state, resigned as its MLA. Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and retained his Nandigram stronghold in the April assembly elections. He chose to represent Bhabanipur, vacating Nandigram and necessitating the bypoll. The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, whose son Chandranath, an aide of Adhikari, was shot dead days after the assembly election results were announced.The TMC, which was voted out after 15 years and has since split into two factions, decided not to field a candidate after its original nominee, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew from the contest. It instead extended support to the Congress. However, in a twist, Congress candidate Milan Pradhan was arrested hours later in connection with a 2007 case. On September 29, the Calcutta high court granted him interim bail till October 21, while the Supreme Court adjourned the West Bengal government’s plea challenging the order, paving the way for Pradhan to contest the bypoll.The rival TMC faction is also in the fray, having nominated Mohammad Eteshamul Haque, while the CPI has fielded Santigopal Giri.The other seat, Rejinagar, fell vacant after Humayun Kabir resigned as MLA. Kabir had earlier formed his own Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) after being suspended and subsequently expelled by the TMC. He also won the Nowda seat and chose to represent it, prompting him to field his son, Golam Nabi Azad, from Rejinagar, where around 70% of voters belong to the minority community.The BJP has fielded Sakharav Sarkar, while the CPI(M) has nominated Syed Asad Ali. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction has fielded Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, while the rival faction has nominated Safiuzzaman Sheikh. The Congress candidate is Mohammad Abdullahil Kafi.
BJP aims to wrest Nagaon from Congress in Assam
In Assam, the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of then-Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, who switched to the BJP in April ahead of the assembly elections, which the saffron party won, securing a third straight term. The contest is significant for the Congress, which held the seat after Bordoloi won it in 2019 and 2024. The party has fielded former MLA Sibamoni Bora, while the BJP has nominated Devasish Sharma.AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal is also contesting after replacing the party’s original nominee, Rejaul Karim Sarkar. With more than 55% of Nagaon’s voters belonging to the minority community, the contest among the BJP, Congress and AIUDF is being closely watched, despite 15 candidates being in the fray.
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Thattanchavady: NDA’s popularity test in Puducherry
The Thattanchavady bypoll is being seen as a test of the four-month-old NDA government led by chief minister N Rangasamy. The seat fell vacant after Rangasamy, who won both Thattanchavady and Mangalam in the April assembly elections, kept Mangalam.The All India NR Congress, which leads the NDA government, has fielded Ashok Anand, while the DMK and Congress have nominated K Sethu Selvam and E Vinayagam, respectively. The Congress has the backing of its Tamil Nadu ally TVK. Eleven candidates are in the fray.
