देश
Counting of votes for by-poll to Asansol LS seat, four assembly constituencies underway; all eyes on Shatrughan Sinha
The counting of votes for by-polls to Asansol Lok Sabha seat and four assembly constituencies started on Saturday (April 16, 2022) morning amid tight security.
The counting of votes began at 8 AM and is being held in West Bengal’s Asansol and Ballygunge, Bihar’s Bochahan, Chhattisgarh’s Khairagarh and Kolhapur North in Maharashtra.
West Bengal by-polls
In Bengal, the by-elections were necessitated as Babul Supriyo resigned as the MP of Asansol after switching over to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while state minister Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge, died last year.
Around 66.42 per cent and 41.23 per cent polling was recorded in the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and the Ballygunge assembly seat, respectively, in the elections held on April 12.
All eyes are on Shatrughan Sinha, who has been fielded by Mamata Banerjee’s party from Asansol. On the other hand, the BJP has nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has also fielded Babul Supriyo in Ballygunge, where he is pitted against BJP’s Keya Ghosh and CPI(M)’s Saira Shah Halim. The Congress is also in the fray in both the seats.
According to the latest trends, Shatrughan Sinha is currently leading with 17,000 votes at the end of the third round of counting, while Babul Supriyo is ahead with 8,109 votes at the end of the eight round.
Bihar by-elections
By-poll to the Bochahan seat in Bihar was necessitated due to the death of Vikassheel Insaan Party’s (VIP) leader Musafir Paswan. The by-election was held on April 12.
Sahani, who initially wanted to field the deceased MLA’s son Amar, recently lost his ministerial berth, and subsequently the trust of his prospective candidate. Amar jumped ship and is now in the fray as the candidate of the RJD, which his father had defeated to win the seat.
The VIP subsequently fielded Gita Devi, whose father Ramai Ram was the RJD candidate in the 2020 assembly polls.
The BJP, the former benefactor of Sahani which now seeks to prove a point after having got his scalp, has fielded Baby Kumari. Also in the fray are the Congress, four Independents and candidates of lesser parties, including AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi.
Chhattisgarh by-elections
In Chhattisgarh’s Khairagarh, the by-poll elections were conducted on April 12 due to the death of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) MLA Devvrat Singh.
Maharashtra by-polls
In Maharashtra’s Kolhapur North assembly constituency, the by-election was necessitated following the death of Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav. It was held on April 12 in which 61.19 per cent voter turnout was recorded.
There are 15 candidates in the fray, and the main fight was between Congress, one of the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state, and the opposition BJP.
Jayashree Jadhav, the wife of the late MLA, is the Congress candidate, while the BJP had fielded Satyajit Kadam.
