Stone-Pelting In UP, Clashes In Punjab During Bypolls To 15 Assembly Seats

Nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh went to polls, with over 20 per cent voters turning up to exercise their franchise by 11 am. Bypolls in Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki seats were underway when the Samajwadi Party claimed that in some places voters were being deterred by policemen posted at polling stations, a charge denied by authorities. Stone-pelting was also reported in Meerapur.

While eight seats fell vacant following the incumbent MLAs' election to the Lok Sabha, polling in Sisamau is being conducted due to Samajwadi Party lawmaker Irfan Solanki's disqualification from the assembly after his conviction in a criminal case.

This is the first electoral contest in the state after the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress is not contesting these bypolls and has lent support to the Samajwadi Party, its INDIA bloc ally. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting on all nine seats solo. Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded candidates from Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Mirapur while the Chandrashekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) is contesting on all seats except Sisamau.

In Punjab, where bypolls are being held in four Assembly seats, a voter turnout of over 20 percent was recorded till 11 am. Bypolls to the Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala assembly segments were necessitated after the incumbent lawmakers were elected to the Lok Sabha.

Among the key contestants in the fray are former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Sohan Singh Thandal and Ravikaran Singh Kahlon (BJP), Amrita Warring and Jatinder Kaur (Congress), and Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon and Ishank Kumar Chabbewal (AAP). The Shiromani Akali Dal has opted to stay away from the bypolls after Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has now resigned as party president, failed to get temporary relief from the Akal Takht, which declared him 'tankhaiya' (person guilty of religious misconduct), for the "mistakes" committed by his party and government from 2007 to 2017.

The bypoll results will not have an impact on the current Assembly. The AAP currently has 91 MLAs in the 117 member Punjab Assembly, while the Congress has 15, Shiromani Akali Dal three, BJP two, and the Bahujan Samaj Party one. One seat is held by an Independent MLA.

A 24.95 per cent turnout was recorded till 11 am in Kerala's Palakkad. The by-election was necessitated after Congress leader Shafi Parambil resigned as MLA of the constituency following his election to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara during the general elections.

Among the 10, the key contenders are Rahul Mamkootathil (Congress-led UDF), C. Krishnakumar (BJP-led NDA), and P. Sarin (CPI(M)-led LDF). The Palakkad constituency holds significant importance for the Congress-led UDF, not only for retaining the seat but also because their rival LDF candidate, Sarin, is the former digital media convener of the KPCC. Sarin was expelled from the Congress after he criticised the party's decision to select state Youth Congress president Mamkootathil as its candidate for the Palakkad bypoll.

In the religious town of Uttarakhand's Kedarnath, a turnout of 17.69 per cent was recorded in polls fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Shaila Rani Rawat in July this year. There are six candidates in the fray, with BJP's Asha Nautiyal and Congress's Manoj Rawat seen to be locked in a straight contest.

In Kedarnath, the stakes are high for both BJP and Congress in the bypoll. While the BJP faces the challenge of retaining the seat, the Congress is looking to ensure the BJP's defeat in yet another crucial seat after Badrinath.