Polling began at 7 AM on Thursday in five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Kerala, with moderate voter turnout recorded till 11 AM. The by-elections were necessitated either due to the death or resignation of sitting MLAs, and polling is scheduled to continue till 5 PM.
In West Bengal’s Kaliganj seat, 30.64% voter turnout was recorded by 11 AM. The bypoll was called following the death of TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed. His daughter Alifa Ahamed is contesting as the TMC candidate, facing BJP’s Ashis Ghosh and Congress-CPI(M) backed Kabil Uddin Shaikh. Tensions flared at one polling booth where the Congress accused TMC workers of removing its polling agent, a charge the ruling party has denied.
State-Wise Highlights: Turnout, Candidates and Political Stakes
In Kerala’s Nilambur, the voter turnout stood at 30.15% by 11 AM. The bypoll was triggered by the resignation of P V Anvar, who is now contesting as an independent backed by Trinamool Congress, after falling out with the CPI(M)-led LDF. The main contenders include LDF’s M Swaraj, UDF’s Aryadan Shoukath, NDA’s Mohan George, and Anvar himself. The constituency has over 2.32 lakh voters and 263 polling booths.
In Gujarat, two seats are witnessing polling: Visavadar (Junagadh district) recorded 28.15% turnout and Kadi (Mehsana district), a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat, reported 23.85% polling.
The Visavadar seat fell vacant after AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined BJP, while Kadi’s bypoll was caused by the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki. BJP’s Kirit Patel and Congress’s Nitin Ranpariya are in the fray in Visavadar, with AAP fielding Gopal Italia. In Kadi, BJP has fielded Rajendra Chavda, Congress is represented by Ramesh Chavda, and AAP’s candidate is Jagdish Chavda.
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Despite its dominance in Gujarat, BJP hasn’t won Visavadar since 2007, and is aiming to break the 18-year streak.
In Punjab’s Ludhiana West, 21.51% voter turnout was recorded by 11 AM. The bypoll was triggered by the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi. AAP has fielded Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, a local industrialist and social worker. Congress has fielded Bharat Bhushan Ashu, a two-time MLA from this seat, and the BJP’s nominee is Jiwan Gupta. SAD’s candidate is Parupkar Singh Ghuman.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann urged voters to treat the day not as a holiday but as a chance to fulfil their democratic duty. “You must exercise your right to vote… for the development and progress of your area,” he wrote on X.
The bypoll in Ludhiana West is seen as a litmus test for the AAP government, which campaigned vigorously to retain the seat.
Counting of votes and declaration of results is scheduled for June 23.
