Bypolls

A lot is at stake in defeat: Odisha bypoll puts key parties to test

With top leaders campaigning, the contest carries weight ahead of 2027 panchayat polls

High-pitched election campaigning for Nuapada by-election in Odisha ends

The high-pitched election campaign for Nuapada by-election in Odisha ended on Sunday evening after weeks of rallies and road shows by senior leaders. The bypoll, necessitated following the death of BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8, is the first electoral battle after the BJP formed the government in the state last year. Though the electioneering started from the 11th day memorial meeting of the late MLA, it gained momentum after Dholakia's son Jay joined the BJP on October 11 after quitting his late father's party, BJD. Dhokalia was elected to the assembly on a BJD ticket in 2009, 2019 and 2024. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, deputy chief ministers from Odisha and Chhattisgarh, Union minister Jual Oram, a dozen ministers and MPs and around 100 MLAs from the two states campaigned in the seat. The seat also saw road shows for the first time. The Congress has fielded Ghasiram Majhi, a local tribal le

CM Mann claims Congress, SAD 'looted'; says AAP working to restore dignity

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday launched a scathing attack on opposition parties Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress, accusing them of "looting" the state for decades. He claimed that while these parties mismanaged Punjab's resources, the AAP is working "tirelessly" to restore the state's dignity and prosperity. Mann was canvassing for AAP candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu in Panjwad, Thathi Sohal, and Jhabal Kalan ahead of the November 11 bypoll in the Tarn Taran assembly seat, which was vacated following the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June. Targeting both Congress and the Akali Dal, Mann said, "They sold Punjab's assets, but we are reclaiming its pride." He further criticised SAD leaders Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Majithia, as well as Congress leaders Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Partap Singh Bajwa, saying they had no moral authority to speak about Punjab's welfare. Highlighting his government's achievements, Mann emphasised that AAP has provided .

ECI announces bypolls in 8 Assembly seats across 7 states, UTs: Check dates

The by-elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Telangana, Punjab, Mizoram, and Odisha will be held on November 11. The results will be announced on November 14

Assembly bypolls: BJP wins Gujarat, Congress bags Kerala, AAP takes Punjab

Voting held on June 19 for bypolls to five Assembly seats - Kadi, Visavadar (Gujarat), Nilambur (Kerala), Ludhiana West (Punjab), and Kaliganj (West Bengal); counting is underway

Bypolls begin for 5 Assembly seats across 4 states amid tight security

The constituencies where voting is currently underway are Ludhiana West in Punjab, Kaliganj in West Bengal, Nilambur in Kerala, and Kadi and Visavadar in Gujarat

Voting begins for Assembly by-elections in 5 constituencies across states

The polling began at 7 am on the Nilambur seat in Kerala, the Ludhiana West seat in Punjab, the Kaliganj seat in West Bengal, and the Visavadar and Kadi seats in Gujarat

First time in 2 decades, EC holds revision of voters' list for bypolls

For the first time in nearly two decades, the Election Commission revised the voters' list of five constituencies for holding assembly bypolls there in a bid to ensure a "spotless" electoral roll. The last time a special summary revision took place for a bypoll was in 2006 in Tamil Nadu, officials pointed out. Citing provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, officials said the electoral roll is to be revised before every election and bypoll unless otherwise directed by the EC. If the electoral roll is not revised, the validity or continued operation of the said electoral roll shall not be affected, they said, quoting the law. The validity of the current electoral roll continues till the completion of the special revision. Officials underlined that it is for the commission to decide if revision of electoral rolls has to be conducted or not, depending on the requirement. Bypolls to five assembly seats in four states will be held on June 19, the poll authority announ

Kejriwal to enter Rajya Sabha? AAP fields MP for Ludhiana West bypoll

AAP nominates Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora for Ludhiana West bypoll as Congress' Partap Singh Bajwa claims Kejriwal's Rajya Sabha entry is certain after dropping Punjab seat bid

Bypolls to six vacant Rajya Sabha seats in four states to be held on Dec 20

Bypolls to six vacancies in Rajya Sabha across four states will be held on December 20, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. Three vacancies were created in Andhra Pradesh when YSRCP members Venkataramana Rao Mopidevi, Beedha Masthan Rao Yadav and Ryaga Krishnaiah had quit their membership in August. The terms of Yadav and Krishnaiah as Rajya Sabha members were to end on June 21, 2028, while Mopidevi was to retire on 21 June, 2026. A vacancy occurred in Odisha when Sujeet Kumar quit his seat following which he was expelled by the Biju Janata Dal. His term was to end on April 2, 2026. Jawhar Sircar of the TMC had resigned in April following the rape-murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata, creating a vacancy in the state. He was otherwise to retire in April 2026. Krishan Lal Panwar of the BJP had quit his Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana following his election as an MLA in the recent state polls. After the recent assembly polls, TDP in Andhra Pradesh and BJP in Odisha will have a

Tejashwi may skip winter session out of shame post bypoll result: JD(U)

JD(U) spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar on Sunday took a dig at Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly, claiming that the RJD leader may give the winter session a slip out of "political shame". Kumar's comments in a video message came a day after the NDA, of which the party is a crucial partner, swept by-elections to four assembly seats in the state, retaining Imamganj and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj. The RJD lost two seats, thereby getting deprived of the "single-largest party" status in the 243-strong assembly that Yadav and his colleagues prided themselves on. Kumar also recalled Yadav's absence during the monsoon session, asserting that the latter had played truant because of "raajneetik lajja (political shame)" resulting from the Lok Sabha polls. The NDA, which won back Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) supremo, earlier this year, bagged 30 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The RJD, which is INDIA bloc's larges

NDA tastes bypoll success in Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya; WB remains elusive

The juggernaut of the BJP-led NDA, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's TMC registered a six-on-six clean sweep. In its process of continuing to deny the BJP its coveted foothold in the state's political theatre, the TMC retained five of the six seats it had previously won during the 2021 polls, while wresting the key Madarihat seat from the saffron camp in north Bengal's Alipurduar district, and opening its account in the segment for the first time. The scene was much brighter for the ruling NDA in neighbouring Bihar where it swept the bypolls to four assembly segments, retaining Imamganj and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj, in a shot in the arm ahead of the assembly polls due next year. In Assam, the BJP and its allies retained four assembly seats and were leading in one, where the bypolls were held on November 13. The sol

UP bypoll result: BJP clinches 6 out of 9 seats, SP saves Akhilesh's Karhal

UP bye-election results 2024: The BJP has emerged victorious, securing six seats. Meanwhile, the SP secured Karhal and Sishamau seats

Karnataka Assembly bypolls win: Shivakumar gives credit to CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday gave credit to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's leadership as well as the five guarantees for the Congress party's success in the assembly bypolls. Shivakumar said this victory was a prelude to the 2028 assembly election where the party would once again win. The Congress won the Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur Assembly segments. The by-elections were held on November 13 and the results were announced today. The ruling Congress on Saturday retained its strong hold of Sandur, with its candidate E Annapoorna, winning the seat by defeating BJP's ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu. In the Channapatna segment, Congress' C P Yogeeshwara won the "high profile" seat by defeating JD(S) candidate and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy. Similarly, Congress' Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan won the Shiggaon Assembly segment by defeating former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's son Bharath Bommai. "Our guarantees, ...

Your blessings will help us work: Mamata to people after TMC's bypoll wins

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday thanked the people of the state as her party, the Trinamool Congress, was on the course to bag all the six assembly seats that went to the by-elections. She said the results of the by-elections would help her work for the people. "I would like to thank and congratulate the 'Maa, Mati and Manush' from the bottom of my heart. Your blessings will help us work for the people in the coming days. We all are common people and that is our identity. We are not zamindars, but the custodians of the people," she posted on X. According to the Election Commission, TMC has already won the Naihati, Sitai, Haroa and Madarihat seats, and was leading by big margins in Taldangra and Medinipur.

Officials gear up for counting in Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly polls

Security has been tightened at counting centres in Maharashtra, including Kalina and Dharavi, as per the visuals

Uttarakhand bypoll: 57.64% turnout in Kedarnath, 8.8% drop from last poll

A voter turnout of 57.64 per cent was recorded in the Kedarnath Assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand till 6 pm on Wednesday. "The bypoll went off peacefully with no untoward incident reported from the constituency. Till the end of polling at 6 pm, 57.64 per cent of the electorate cast their votes," Chief Electoral Officer BVRC Purushottam said. After a slow start at 8 am, the number of voters at polling booths swelled as the day progressed. A total of 173 polling booths were set up in the constituency, 130 of them equipped with CCTV cameras. The booths were monitored by the offices of the district and chief election officers as well as the Election Commission through webcasting, Purushottam said. In the last Assembly polls in Uttarakhand in 2022, Kedarnath recorded 66.43 per cent polling, officials said. Earlier in the day, district electoral officer Saurabh Gaharwar visited polling booths to ensure voting was going on smoothly. He also appealed to people to come out in large numbers to

Bypolls 2024: Voting underway in 15 Seats across 4 states

Bypolls are being conducted today, November 20, in 15 assembly seats across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand. Watch the video to know the details.

Wayanad sees low turnout of 64.72% in Priyanka Gandhi's debut contest

Wayanad by-election records a voter turnout of 64.72%, the lowest since its inception in 2009, as Priyanka Gandhi faces CPI and BJP in her debut contest

Bypolls 2024: Priyanka in Wayanad; spotlight on Shivraj Chouhan's Budhni

Assembly bypolls to 31 constituencies is underway, mostly vacated following the resignations of MLAs who were elected to the Lok Sabha in the elections