The counting of votes for byelections has begun. Over the past few weeks, bypolls were held on 48 assembly seats in 14 states - Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Elections were also held on two Lok Sabha seats - Kerala's Wayanad and Maharashtra's Nanded.
These elections mark the electoral debut of Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is contesting in Wayanad, earlier held by her brother Rahul Gandhi. The election was necessitated in Wayanad after Rahul Gandhi won both Wayanad and Rae Bareli seats and decided to retain the latter.
Rahul Gandhi has been actively campaigning for his sister Priyanka Gandhi. In one of the election rallies, he said, “If she likes you, she will do whatever; beyond anything you can imagine. She is also going to like Wayanad a lot. You see, a huge part of being a good MP is that you like the people and place you work for. She is going to like it.”
As of 10:50 am, Priyanka Gandhi is leading in Wayanad with over 2.26 lakh votes. Communist Party of India's Sathyan Mokeri is trailing with nearly 77,973 votes while the BJP's Navya Haridas is in the third spot with 43,352 votes.
Priyanka Gandhi has secured a margin of over 1 lakh votes.
READ | Will Priyanka Gandhi Be A Better MP For Wayanad? Rahul Gandhi Responds
The bypolls results for six assembly seats in West Bengal will be interesting and a test for the ruling Trinamool Congress as protests in the RG Kar rape and murder case continue.
The TMC hopes to maintain the momentum set since 2021, having won nearly all assembly by-polls, except Sagardighi in February 2023.