Voting for bye-elections in seven Assembly constituencies in six states went underway at 7 am on Tuesday.
Polling is being held at the Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Dumri in Jharkhand, Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura, Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Dhupguri in West Bengal and Puthuppally in Kerala. The results will be declared on September 8.
The bye-elections are being seen as the first electoral test for the Opposition’s INDIA alliance. At ameeting of the alliance last week, the 28 constituent parties resolved to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together “as far as possible” in an attempt to take down the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre.
The Ghosi bye-election is being held on account of the resignation of Dara Singh Chauhan, who had won the seat in 2022, from the Samajwadi Party. Chauhan is now contesting on a BJP ticket against the Samajwadi Party’s Sudhakar Singh.
The bye-poll in Dumri has been necessitated by the death of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA Jagarnath Mahto, who had been representing the seat since 2004. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has fielded Mahto’s wife Bebi Devi, while the All Jharkhand Students Union, a partner in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, has nominated Yashoda Devi.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has fielded Mohammed Abdul Mobin…
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