Amid allegations of violence and fake voting, Tripura’s Dhanpur and Boxanagar saw a voter turnout of 81.34% and 85.52%, respectively. (Express photo by Debraj Deb)Bypolls 2023: In what could be seen as the first face-off between the BJP-led NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc ahead of several Assembly polls in major states later this year, Sven Assembly seats across six states saw bypolls today. Despite on and off rains, 72.91% electors in Kerala’s Puthuppally cast their votes as voting concluded, reported PTI. Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar saw over 55% of voter turnout on Tuesday. Meanwhile, amid allegations of violence and fake voting, Tripura’s Dhanpur and Boxanagar saw a voter turnout of 83.92% and 89.20% by 5 pm, respectively.
The bypolls at Dumri in Jharkhand, Puthuppally in Kerala, Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura, Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, and Dhupguri in West Bengal began at 7 am. The counting of votes will take place on September 8. In five seats, by-elections were necessitated by the deaths of the sitting MLAs, while the two other MLAs resigned from their post.
INDIA constituents are putting up a united front behind the dominant Samajwadi Party in Ghosi, Uttar Pradesh, behind the leading JMM in Jharkhand’s Dumri, behind the stronger CPI(M) in Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura, and behind the preeminent Congress in Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar. However, in West Bengal’s Dhupguri and Kerala’s Puthuppally seats, INDIA partners are rallied against each other.
Bypolls are underway in seven seats across six states.
As voting in the by-election for the Puthuppally assembly constituency in Kottayam district of Kerala concluded on Tuesday evening, it saw around 72.91 per cent of the over 1.76 lakh voters turning up to exercise their franchise.
The brisk pace of voting seen in the first half of the day with the turnout crossing 50 per cent by 2 pm, slowed down thereafter and the subsequent, 4-5 hours of polling only saw an additional 22.91 per cent turnout.
After polling concluded, of the 1,76,417 voters, 1,28,624 people -- 64,084 men, 64,538 women and two transgenders -- cast their votes. (PTI)
More than 55 per cent of the electorate cast their votes on Tuesday to seal the fate of five candidates in the fray for the Bageshwar assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand.
Bageshwar District Magistrate Anuradha Paul said 55.44 per cent voting was recorded in the bypoll. The voter turnout for the seat in 2022 assembly polls was 60.01 per cent, she said.
The counting of votes will take place on September 8 and the result will be declared on the same day. (PTI)
A 89.20 per cent voter turnout was recorded at the Boxanagar Assembly constituency and at the Dhanpur seat it was reported to be at 83.92 per cent until 5 pm.
Amid allegations of violence and fake voting, Tripura’s Dhanpur and Boxanagar saw a voter turnout of 81.34% and 85.52%, respectively, an official from the CEO office said.
An average voter turnout of 76 per cent was recorded till 3 pm of polling in the by-elections to Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Tripura's Sepahijala district on Tuesday, an official said. Voting began at 7 am in 59 booths in Dhanpur assembly constituency and 51 in Boxanagar, and was scheduled to continue till 4 pm.
Police said six persons were injured when they were allegedly attacked by some villagers at Mohanbhog in Dhanpur Assembly constituency. The villagers set fire to five motorcycles, triggering tension, but the situation was brought under control, a police officer said, adding, the injured have been admitted to hospital and are out of danger.
"I urge the people to maintain peace during the polling and repeat the precedent of peaceful voting like of last assembly elections," Chief Minister Manik Saha said in a Facebook post. BJP's Tafajjal Hussain, who unsuccessfully contested the last assembly election from Boxanagar, is contesting against CPI(M) nominee Mizan Hussain from there.
The Boxanagar assembly segment has 66 per cent minority voters of a total of 43,087 electors. (PTI)
About 59 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm on Tuesday in the by-election to Dumri assembly seat in Jharkhand, an official said.
The polling is underway peacefully across the constituency, and the turnout was 58.92 per cent after the first eight hours of voting, he said. (PTI)
More than 43 per cent of the electorate in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi assembly constituency cast their votes till 3 pm for the bypoll on Tuesday, the first electoral showdown in the state after the formation of the opposition INDIA bloc.
Voting began at 7 am and is being held at 455 polling stations. It is slated to conclude at 6 pm. (PTI)
Amid allegations of violence and fake voting, Tripura’s Dhanpur and Boxanagar saw a voter turnout of 78.69% and 74.69%, respectively.
However, according to officials at the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)’s office, voting was underway peacefully at different polling stations of the Boxanagar constituency.
BJP candidate at the Dhanpur constituency Bindu Debnath had also refuted allegations of violence by the Opposition CPI(M) and Congress and said electors have come out wholeheartedly in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issue of peace and development.
Over 38 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm in the Bageshwar Assembly by-election in Uttarakhand which began at 7 am on Tuesday. Voting is slated to go on till 5 pm. There are approximately 1.2 lakh voters in the constituency.
People began queuing up outside the polling booths from 6 am and by 1 pm 38.08 per cent polling was recorded, Bageshwar District Magistrate Anuradha Paul told PTI.
Around 51 per cent of voting was recorded in the by-election to the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district till 1 pm, an official said.
"Around 51 per cent of votes were cast till 1 pm. Tight security measures are in place and there is an adequate number of forces,” the Election Commission official told PTI.
An estimated 60 per cent electorate cast their votes in the first few hours of polling Tuesday in the Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly constituencies in Tripura’s Sepahijala district, where voting is underway for the bypolls.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)’s office, 61.61 per cent voter turnout was recorded at the Boxanagar Assembly constituency and 59.62 per cent turnout was registered at Dhanpur until now.
Over 34 per cent polling was recorded in the by-election to Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district till 11 am, PTI reported.
An estimated 40 per cent electorate cast their votes in the first four hours of polling Tuesday in the Dhanpur and Boxanagar Assembly constituencies in Tripura's Sepahijala district, where voting is underway for the bypolls.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)’s office, 40.49 per cent voter turnout was recorded at the Boxanagar Assembly constituency and 39.48 per cent turnout was registered at Dhanpur until 11 am. Polling had started at 7 am in 59 booths in the Dhanpur Assembly constituency and 51 in Boxanagar, and will continue until 4 pm.
While the poll turnout was around 19 per cent until 9 am, the voting pace picked up with most polling stations seen packed with electors standing in queues despite a sunny and humid day. Read full report by Debraj Deb
Over 10 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first two hours of polling for the Bageshwar Assembly by-election in Uttarakhand which began at 7 am on Tuesday. Voting is slated to go on till 5 pm. There are approximately 1.2 lakh voters in the constituency.
As polling for the Puthuppally assembly seat commenced on Tuesday, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy -- whose death necessitated the bypoll -- still figured among the list of over 1.76 lakh voters in the constituency.
Chandy's name figured at serial 647 in the voters list at the Georgian Public School (CBSE) polling booth in Puthuppally (North Portion) here.
Election analysts were of the view that the short span within which the bypoll was announced and polling was held, after the demise of the Congress stalwart, did not give the Election Commission enough time to remove the former Kerala CM's name from the electoral roll. However, his name was crossed out manually in the physical list at the polling station, sources said. --PTI
Bypoll to the Dhupguri Assembly seat in West Bengal started Tuesday peacefully, in stark contrast to the violence-marred panchayat polls a few months ago.
In almost every booth, long queues of voters were seen. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), in the first two hours, up to 9 am, 17.25 per cent votes were polled. To conduct a peaceful election, 30 companies of central forces have been deployed. No state police personnel were allowed within 100 metres of booths. Atri Mitra reports
Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, voter turnout was recorded at just 9.12 per cent in the first two hours polling.
Over 11.40 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters cast their votes till 9 am in the by-election to Jhanrkhand's Dumri assembly seat, PTI reported.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren extended his wishes to the voters and polling officials and urged the electors to exercise their franchise.
A year after the Assembly polls in Uttarakhand, the Bageshwar seat will hold a bypoll following the death of sitting BJP MLA Chandan Ram Dass. Dass, a four-time MLA and minister with the portfolios of Social Welfare, Minority Welfare, Road Transport, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, had won in the 2022 polls for a fourth consecutive time after defeating the Congress’s Ranjeet Das by more than 12,000 votes. This time, the BJP is fielding Dass’s wife Parwati in a direct contest against the Congress’s Basant Kumar. After the Congress’s previous candidate Ranjeet Das left to join the BJP just weeks before the election, the party opted to field former AAP candidate Kumar. Ranjeet, however, was not named as the BJP candidate.
Voting has started at 110 polling stations of both Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly constituencies in Tripura's Sepahijala district from 7 AM onwards this morning as part of the by-election in the two seats.
The bypolls were necessitated due to death of CPM MLA Samsul Haque, who was elected with a CPIM ticket from Boxanagar constituency and the resignation of Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik, who contested and won with a BJP ticket from Dhanpur.The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition CPI(M) are the only major players in the field this time and both Congress and TIPRA Motha, which is the prime opposition in the assembly, chose to sit this one out.
Sepahijala district, which houses a population of around 5.42 lakh people in an area of 1043.04 sq. km, is located just beside the Indo-Bangla international border and several parts of the two by-poll bound constituencies have bordering villages. -- Debraj Deb reports
Jharkhand Minister and Dumri JMM bypoll candidate Bebi Devi says, " have full support from the people here. I have cast my vote. Anything can only be said after 8th September, when the results are announced."
The bypolls at Dumri in Jharkhand, Puthuppally in Kerala, Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura, Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, and Dhupguri in West Bengal began at 7 am.
Good morning! Welcome to Bypoll 2023 Live blog. Watch this space from latest updates about voting in seven seats across six states.