New Delhi: Apart from voting for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assemblies, bypolls will also be held for 15 assembly seats across four states on Wednesday, November 20. These constituencies are spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand. The results of these bypolls will be announced on November 23, though they are not expected to directly impact the respective legislative assemblies.
In Uttar Pradesh, nine constituencies will go to the polls: Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur, and Kundarki. A total of 90 candidates are in the race, with Ghaziabad witnessing the highest number of 14 contestants.
Samajwadi Party vs BJP in UP
This will be the first electoral test for the INDIA bloc and NDA in Uttar Pradesh following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2022 assembly polls, the Samajwadi Party won seats like Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal, and Kundarki, while the BJP claimed Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, and Khair. The Meerapur seat was won by BJP ally RLD.
Punjab will hold bypolls in four constituencies: Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC), and Barnala, all of which were vacated when sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha. These constituencies were previously held by Congress, except Barnala, which was won by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). A total of 45 candidates, including three women, will contest for these seats, with 6.96 lakh eligible voters. Notable candidates include BJP’s former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Congress’s Amrita Warring, AAP’s Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, and others.
‘Byelections a precursor to upcoming state elections’
Byelections will also take place in Kerala’s Palakkad constituency and Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath seat. The Palakkad seat was vacated when Congress MLA Shafi Parambil was elected to the Lok Sabha, while Kedarnath fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Shailarani Rawat. The candidates for these seats include BJP’s Asha Nautiyal and Congress’s Manoj Rawat, both of whom have previously represented the Kedarnath constituency.
With intense political battles shaping up in these key constituencies, the byelections are seen as a precursor to upcoming state elections, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where the stakes are high for both the ruling BJP and the opposition.
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