Top News

Voters across four states—West Bengal, Kerala, Gujarat, and Punjab—will head to the polls on Thursday, June 19, to elect representatives in five Assembly constituencies. These byelections are being closely watched as they test regional alliances, individual party standings, and post-Lok Sabha poll momentum. Counting of votes will take place on June 23.

Ludhiana West Bypoll: Urban Voters to Decide AAP’s Fortunes

In Punjab, Ludhiana West is poised for a fierce battle between AAP and the Congress, with the BJP and SAD also in the fray. The seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January.

AAP has nominated Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, an industrialist known for his charitable work. Congress has fielded former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, a two-time MLA from the same seat. BJP’s candidate is Jiwan Gupta, a senior party leader, and SAD is represented by lawyer Parupkar Singh Ghuman.

Arvind Kejriwal announced that Arora would be inducted into the state cabinet if elected. “Ludhiana West would witness unparalleled development,” he said, while Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann described the election as a fight “between humility and arrogance.” Ashu, on the other hand, declared, “My electoral fight is not against Arora, but Kejriwal, who was allegedly fighting for his own backdoor entry to Rajya Sabha from Punjab.”

Punjab Congress leaders including Bhupesh Baghel, Charanjit Singh Channi, and Raja Warring campaigned for Ashu, while BJP’s campaign featured Hardeep Singh Puri and Ravneet Singh Bittu. A total of 14 candidates are in the race with 1,75,469 voters—85,371 women and 10 of the third gender. Real-time monitoring and 100% live webcasting will be in place at 194 polling stations.

Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain assured that all arrangements were in place, urging voters to “come out in large numbers” to vote.

Kaliganj Faces Triangular Contest After Murshidabad Riot, Operation Sindoor

In West Bengal’s Kaliganj seat, the bypoll has turned into a three-way contest between the Trinamool Congress (TMC), BJP, and the Congress-Left alliance. The election was necessitated by the death of sitting TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed earlier this year.

TMC has fielded Ahmed’s daughter, 38-year-old BTech graduate and corporate professional Alifa Ahmed. BJP’s candidate is Ashis Ghosh, a local panchayat member and former mandal president. The Congress, with Left Front backing, has nominated Kabil Uddin Sheikh. While CPI(M) initially considered contesting the seat based on recent poll performances, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)—a key Left ally in Kaliganj—decided to support Congress to preserve unity.

The campaign saw hundreds of workers take to the streets with flags, balloons, and drums. The seat, which has 2,52,670 registered voters, will witness polling across 309 booths. Identity politics, anxiety following the Murshidabad riots, and nationalist sentiments post Operation Sindoor—the military response to the Pahalgam attack on May 7—have shaped the narrative in this minority-dominated constituency.

Gujarat’s Visavadar, Kadi Bypolls Key for BJP and AAP

Two constituencies in Gujarat—Visavadar (Junagadh) and Kadi (Mehsana)—will vote tomorrow. Both are witnessing contests involving the BJP, Congress, and AAP.

In Visavadar, which fell vacant after AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the BJP, the ruling party has fielded Kirit Patel. The Congress candidate is Nitin Ranpariya, while AAP has chosen its former Gujarat president Gopal Italia. Despite its statewide dominance, the BJP hasn’t won this seat since 2007.

Kadi, a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat, fell vacant after BJP MLA Karsan Solanki’s death. BJP has nominated Rajendra Chavda, Congress has chosen former MLA Ramesh Chavda, and AAP has fielded Jagdish Chavda.

Polling will be held between 7 am and 8 pm across 294 booths in each constituency. The Gujarat government has declared a public holiday in both seats to facilitate voting.

Nilambur Sees Four-Way Fight as P V Anvar Joins Fray

In Kerala’s Malappuram district, Nilambur’s bypoll was triggered after the fallout between CPI(M) and LDF-backed independent MLA P V Anvar. The race has turned into a four-cornered contest involving the LDF, UDF, BJP-led NDA, and the Trinamool Congress.

The Congress has fielded Aryadan Shoukath, son of late party veteran Aryadan Mohammed. CPI(M)’s candidate is M Swaraj, a state secretariat member. The BJP has put up lawyer-politician Mohan George. Anvar himself has entered the contest as Trinamool’s state convenor.

Debates during campaigning ranged from human-animal conflict and welfare pensions to international issues like the Israel-Palestine war and the Congress’s alleged links with Jamaat-e-Islami, as per PTI. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the Congress of playing communal politics. In response, the opposition alleged that LDF was seeking communal votes in the Muslim-majority region.

The tragic death of a school student due to an illegal wild boar trap during the campaign sparked a political storm. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, while campaigning for Shoukath, criticised the LDF’s handling of both wildlife conflict and the pension scheme.

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan claimed, “Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath would win by a margin of no less than 15,000 votes.” LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan dismissed this, asserting the political mood favoured their candidate.

The outcome of these high-stakes byelections will be revealed on Monday, June 23.