In a significant political development, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Mohinder Bhagat has secured a decisive victory in the Jalandhar West assembly seat by a margin of over 37,000 votes. This outcome comes after the completion of all 13 rounds of counting.
Meanwhile, in Uttarakhand, the Congress party has taken the lead in both the Badrinath and Manglaur seats. After all nine rounds of counting were completed, BJP’s Ashish Sharma emerged victorious in the Hamirpur assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh, defeating Congress candidate Dr. Pushpinder Verma by over 1,500 votes.
In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is leading in all four contested seats. Krishna Kalyani, the TMC candidate from Raiganj, holds a substantial lead of over 41,000 votes after seven rounds of counting.
Moderate to High Turnout Recorded
Polling for the by-elections in 13 Assembly constituencies across seven states concluded on July 10, with a moderate to high voter turnout. These bypolls were necessitated by vacancies due to the deaths or resignations of incumbent MLAs from various parties. The contested seats included Rupauli in Bihar; Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala in West Bengal; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; and Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh.
Allegations and Incidents of Violence
In West Bengal, the opposition BJP, which contested four seats, lodged nearly 100 complaints alleging violence, intimidation, and bogus voting by the ruling TMC. These allegations prompted the Election Commission to request an action taken report from the state’s Chief Electoral Officer.
In Bihar, a mob attack on a police party in Rupauli left two officers injured. Additionally, a clash in Uttarakhand’s Manglaur during voting resulted in several injuries. Congress candidate Qazi Nizamuddin from Manglaur claimed that miscreants fired shots near a polling booth, although police have not confirmed this incident.
Other Notable Results
Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife, Kamlesh Thakur, is poised for victory, leading by more than 7,500 votes after nine rounds of counting in Dehra.
Following AAP candidate Mohan Bhagat’s significant victory in the Jalandhar West assembly bypolls, the party expressed gratitude to Punjab voters. “The people of Jalandhar West have stamped their approval on the development work of Chief Minister @BhagwantMann by making the AAP candidate @mohinderbhagat_victorious with a huge margin,” AAP posted on X.
In Uttarakhand, Congress’ Qazi Nizamuddin leads by 7,000 votes against BSP’s Ubaidur Rahaman in Manglaur. Lakhapat Singh Butola is ahead by over 1,000 votes against previous sitting MLA Rajendra Bhandari in Badrinath.
In Bihar’s Rupauli, Janata Dal (United) candidate Kaladhar Prasad Mandal has taken the lead after five rounds of counting, with Independent candidate Shankar Singh trailing by over 1,500 votes.
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