New Delhi: Bypolls in five states of Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, Punjab, Tripura, and Jharkhand have begun early morning on Thursday. Ahead of the polling, the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday wrote to the Election Commission alleging the ruling BJP was using government machinery to win the bypoll to Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats and demanded the poll body issue directives for free and fair elections. Yadav asked people to remain alert to the lies of the BJP and appealed them to vote for SP candidates in the bypolls.
Uttar Pradesh by-polls
Over 35 lakh people will be voting on Thursday to decide the fate of 19 candidates in the bypolls to the Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats, considered as the bastions of the Samajwadi Party. The polling will take place between 7 am and 6 pm, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said. The bypolls to the Azamgarh seat were necessitated by the resignation of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly as an MLA in the elections earlier this year. The Rampur seat was vacated by senior SP leader Azam Khan, who too was elected to the state Assembly.
According to officials, 13 candidates are in the fray from Azamgarh, where 18.38 lakh people are eligible to vote. Six candidates are contesting from Rampur, which has 17.06 lakh voters. The campaigning for the bypolls had ended Tuesday evening. From Rampur, the BJP has fielded Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, who recently joined the party, while the SP has fielded Asim Raja, handpicked by Khan. The Mayawati-led BSP is not contesting from Rampur.
The Azamgarh seat will see a triangular contest among BJP's Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirhua', a famous Bhojpuri actor-singer, SP's Dharmendra Yadav and BSP's Shah Alam, also known as Guddu Jamali. The BJP is eyeing to bolster its strength in the Lok Sabha further through these bypolls while the SP will go an extra mile to protect its pocket-boroughs. In Azamgarh, of the 18.38 lakh voters, 9,70,249 are men, 8,67,942 women and 36 third gender. Officials said 2,176 booths will be set up at 1,149 polling stations of the constituency, where an estimated 15 per cent of the residents are Muslim.
All four assembly constituencies--Azamgarh, Mubarakpur, Sagdi, Gopalpur and Mehnagar--falling in this Lok Sabha seat were won by the SP in the recent assembly elections. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, there was an alliance between the SP and the BSP, and Akhilesh Yadav had won easily, getting 6.21 lakh votes against BJP's Dinesh Lal Yadav, who had got 3.61 lakh votes. While central BJP leaders remained absent from campaigning this time, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath sought votes for the BJP candidates on the two seats.
Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple did not campaign in the bypolls. When asked about it, the SP chief, who was in Kannauj on Tuesday, had said, "We are winning both Azamgarh and Rampur seats." The Rampur constituency, which has almost an equal number of Hindu and Muslim voters, is considered a bastion of prominent SP Muslim face Azam Khan.
Yadav, Sikhs and Dalit voters are also in a position to influence the outcome of the bypoll on the seat. In the 2019 Lok Sabaha elections, Azam Khan had received 5,59,177 votes, whereas BJP candidate Jaya Prada got 4,49,180 votes and Congress candidate Sanjay Kapoor lost his deposit. The Rampur parliamentary constituency comprises assembly segments of Rampur, Suar, Chamraua, Bilaspur and Milak.
Tripura by-polls
All necessary arrangements are in place for the by-elections to the four assembly constituencies in Tripura on Thursday, officials said. The elections will be held in 222 polling stations in Agartala, Town Bardowali, Surma and Jubarajnagar seats, they said. Polling personnel have already moved to their respective booths with election materials, including EVMs, they added.
"All necessary arrangements have been made to conduct the election in a free, fair and peaceful manner," Chief Electoral Officer Kiran Gitte said on Wednesday. "All the polling stations will be manned by CRPF and BSF as the Centre has sent 25 companies of additional forces to ensure voters could exercise their democratic right fearlessly," he said. Webcasting facilities would be made available at all polling stations, and micro observers would be deployed to ensure a free and fair election, Gitte said.
"In addition, there will be videography facilities for surveillance outside the booths during the polling process," he said. A total of 1,89,032 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the four constituencies. In all, 22 candidates are in the fray. Town Bardowali and Agartala have six candidates each, while Surma and Jubarajnagar have five nominees each. Chief Minister Manik Saha, who is not a member of the assembly, is fighting the elections from Town Bardowali against Congress's Asish Saha. Left has fielded Raghunath Sarkar, while Sanhita Bhattacharya is the Trinamool Congress candidate.
Manik Saha, who was made the chief minister of the state last month after Biplab Deb's sudden resignation, has to win this election. He is at present a member of the Rajya Sabha. The by-election in Town Bardowali is being held as Asish Saha switched over to the Congress after resigning as an MLA earlier this year. Sudip Roy Barman, who switched over to the Congress along with Asish Saha after resigning as a BJP MLA, is fighting from the Agartala seat. He is a five-time MLA from the constituency, and the by-election was necessitated because of his resignation.
Jharkhand by-polls
A day before by-election for the Mandar Assembly seat in Jharkhand, over 3,000 security personnel have been deployed in the constituency, a senior police officer said. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the polling day and all booths have been provided with 100 per cent security cover, Ranchi senior superintendent of police Surendra Kumar Jha said on Wednesday. More than 3,000 security forces, including personnel from district armed police (DAP), Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP), CRPF, and SSB have been deputed in the constituency, the SSP said.
Over 3.54 lakh voters, including 1.75 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-election. Polling will start at 7 am and conclude at 4 pm, officials said. The counting of votes will take place on June 26. The Congress, an alliance partner of the ruling JMM-led government, aims at retaining the seat reserved for ST. The by-election is likely to be a tough fight between the BJP, Congress, and Independent candidate Dev Kumar Dhan. The election was necessitated after the disqualification of Bandhu Tirkey as an MLA in the wake of his conviction in a corruption case.
The Congress has fielded Bandhu's daughter, Shilpa Neha Tirkey, as the joint candidate of the JMM-led alliance, while the BJP has nominated former legislator Gangotri Kujur from the seat. BJP rebel Dhan, who has recently been expelled from the saffron party for six years, is contesting the polls as an independent candidate with backing from Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). The election will be conducted in 433 polling stations and 1,732 polling staff will be deputed at the booths. Thirty-eight booths will be all-women booths, while 35 have been declared as model polling stations.
Jha said following the mapping of vulnerable booths, 141 booths have been declared hyper-sensitive, 218 as sensitive, and 55 as vulnerable booths. All preparations regarding conducting the by-poll have been completed and polling parties were dispatched to Mandar from Ranchi's Morabadi ground on Wednesday. Medical kits have also been arranged for them, said district election officer-cum-deputy commissioner, Ranchi, Chhavi Ranjan.
New Delhi by-polls
The stage is set for the Rajinder Nagar bypoll in Delhi on Thursday, largely being seen as a battle between a confident AAP and a spirited BJP for the crucial Assembly constituency where water shortage and the city government's liquor policy are among the key election issues. A total of 1,64,698 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll, in which 14 candidates are in the fray. In addition to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress candidates, there are three others from unrecognised parties and eight Independent nominees.
The campaigning for the bypoll ended on Tuesday evening. The AAP and the BJP reached out to the voters through roadshows and door-to-door campaigns and claimed victory ahead of voting on June 23. From setting up specialised polling stations, including an all-women one, to deployment of security personnel and running awareness campaigns, the Delhi CEO office has made all preparations to ensure that the bypoll is held in an inclusive, accessible and fair manner.
Six companies of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) personnel have been deployed for the bypoll and 1,000 poll personnel will be on duty on Thursday, officials said. On the eve of the bypoll, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh appealed to the voters to cast their votes on polling day. He also urged them to set an example before the country by "registering the highest-ever voter turnout in the constituency".
Punjab by-polls
Bypolls for the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat will be held on Thursday, with the ruling AAP facing its first test of popularity after its impressive performance in the assembly polls. The polls come at a time when the AAP is facing opposition heat over the law and order issue and the killing of singer Sidhu Moosewala.
Candidates fielded by the Congress, BJP and SAD are hoping to cause an election upset while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is looking to repeat its feat of the 2022 assembly polls in which it won all nine assembly segments under the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann campaigned extensively and also took out a roadshow with AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday urging voters to elect party candidate Gurmail Singh, party's Sangrur district in-charge.
The CM expressed confidence that "the revolutionary people of Sangrur will once again vote for a common man and the AAP's Gurmail Singh will win the bypoll with a thumping majority". During his poll campaign in Sangrur, the CM said unlike the opposition, the AAP is contesting the bypoll on issues, including providing jobs to youngsters, developing schools and hospitals, eradicating corruption and mafia elements, to pave the way for a "Rangla (vibrant) Punjab" again.
The poll campaigning for the high-stakes bypoll ended on Tuesday evening. The main opposition Congress has fielded former Dhuri MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy in the bypoll while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded former Barnala MLA Kewal Dhillon, who joined the saffron party on June 4. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann is also in the fray.
Kamaldeep Kaur, the sister of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassination case, has been fielded by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The Sangrur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after Bhagwant Mann contested the February 20 Assembly polls from Dhuri and won. Bhagwant Mann had won the Sangrur seat in 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections and resigned as MP after he won the Dhuri assembly seat.
The Sangrur LS seat was earlier represented by Bhagwant Mann. Of the remaining 12 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, the Congress has eight members, while two each are of the BJP and SAD. The Congress, the BJP and the SAD had hit out at the AAP dispensation during the campaigning over the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state and also raised the killing of Punjabi singer Moosewala. (With Agency Inputs)
