Bypoll Results 2023 highlights: INDIA alliance wins 4, BJP secures 3 assembly seats

The results for bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states will be declared today. The counting of votes began at 8 am at centres set up in the respective states. The seven seats -- Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura -- went to polls on September 5.

1. Puthuppally assembly constituency in Kerala was represented by former CM and Congress leader Oommen Chandy 12 times in a row from 1970 to 2023. He was the MLA from this constituency for the last 53 years. 
2. Oommen Chandy won the seat in the 2023 Kerala assembly elections by defeating CPM's Jaick C Thomas. 
3. The bypoll in the constituency was necessitated after the death of Oommen Chandy. 
4. Congress has fielded Chandy Oommen, the son of Oommen Chandy, as its candidate. 
5. CPM's Jaick C Thomas and BJP's G Lijinlal are also in the fray.

Counting of votes began a few minutes after 8 am for the by-election to the Dumri assembly seat in Jharkhand's Giridih district amid tight security, officials said as per news agency PTI. 

The delay of around 10 minutes happened as official formalities took some time to complete amid heavy rains in the area.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dara Singh Chouhan, a candidate for the Ghosi by-elections in Uttar Pradesh said that his party will get the majority in the poll when the results are out. Dara Singh Chouhan told news agency ANI that he could see people’s trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. 

The counting of votes for the Ghosi assembly bypoll began at 8:00 am, officials said. More than 50 per cent of the total electorates in the assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh's Mau district cast their votes in the polling held on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission of India, the final voting percentage recorded in the bypolls was 50.77 per cent. 

The bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of Dara Singh Chauhan, who had won the seat in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. He returned to the BJP and was fielded by the party in the bypoll.

The counting of votes in the Bageshwar assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand began at 8 am, officials said. The votes are being counted at the Bageshwar Degree College where 14 tables have been set up and 130 polling personnel are on the job, Bageshwar district magistrate Anuradha Pal said. 

Polling was held on September 5 when 55.44 per cent of the nearly 1.2 lakh voters exercised their franchise. The seat fell vacant after the death of MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April this year. He represented the constituency four times since 2007. 

Which candidates are in the fray? There are five candidates in the fray, including Chandan Ram Das' wife Parvati Das of the BJP, Basant Kumar of the Congress, Bhagvati Prasad of the Samajwadi Party, Arjun Dev of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal and Bhagwat Kohli of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party. 

Counting of votes began for seven seats in six states. These seats are: Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura, Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dumri in Jharkhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh and Dhupguri in West Bengal.

1. The Dhanpur assembly constituency in Tripura was represented by former chief minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Manik Sarkar five times in a row from 1998 to 2023.  
2. BJP leader Pratima Bhoumik won the seat in the 2023 Tripura Assembly Elections by defeating CPI (M)'s Kaushik Chanda with a margin of 3,500 votes. 
3. The bypoll was necessitated after Pratima Bhoumik decided to retain her Lok Sabha seat. 
4. CPI (M)'s Kaushik Chanda is again in the fray while BJP has fielded Bindu Debnath.

1. BJP and Congress are in a straight contest in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar constituency. 
2. 55.44 per cent voting was recorded in the bypoll. 
3. The ruling BJP has fielded Parvati Das, the wife of Chandan Das who won four consecutive elections since 2007. His death necessitated the bypoll.

1. The Dhupguri constituency in West Bengal was represented by the CPM eight consecutive times from 1977 to 2016. 
2. In the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections, BJP's Bishnu Pada Roy won the seat by defeating Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mitali Roy with a margin of 4,355 votes.  
3. By-elections to the seat was necessitated after the death of Bishnu Pada Roy.
4. BJP has fielded Tapasi Roy as its candidate against Trinamool's Dr Nirmal Chandra Roy.

Out of the seven seats, three (Dhanpur, Bageshwar and Dhupguri) were held by the BJP and one each by the SP (Ghosi), CPI(M) (Boxanagar), JMM (Dumri) and the Congress (Puthuppally).

Kerala's Puthuppally seat saw an intense battle between the UDF and LDF. The seat was left vacant after the demise of Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy.

According to Election Commission officials, the counting of votes would begin by 8.00 am at the special counting station in the Baselius College. Postal and service ballots would be counted first, officials told news agency PTI.

CPI(M)'s Ishwar Chandra Roy is contesting as the candidate of the Congress-Left alliance in the seat, while the ruling TMC has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy. The BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy. The bypoll to the seat was necessitated due to the death of sitting BJP MLA Bishu Pada Ray earlier this year.

Personnel of the central armed police forces and state police are guarding the strong room on the second campus of North Bengal University in Jalpaiguri, an official said as per news agency PTI.

Counting of votes to both the seats in Triputa- Boxanagar and Dhanpur — will take place at Sonamura Girls' HS School. "There is tight security at the counting centre,” Sepahijala district magistrate Vishal Kumar told news agency PTI.

The ECI has taken necessary steps to conduct the counting in a transparent way, the official said.

BJP's Tafajjal Hussain, who unsuccessfully contested the last assembly election from Boxanagar, is contesting against CPI(M) nominee Mizan Hussain in the sear.

The counting centre has been set up at Krishi Bazar Samiti, Pachambha, in Giridih district, news agency PTI reported quoting an election official ahead of the counting to Dumri assembly bypolls.

"In all, 24 rounds of counting will be held and over 70 officials have been deployed for the exercise," Giridih Deputy Commissioner-cum-Election Officer Naman Priesh Lakra told PTI, adding, “Central Armed Police Force and various wings of Jharkhand police have been deployed to ensure free and fair counting.”

The Bageshwar seat in Uttarakhand fell vacant after the death of MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April this year. He had won the seat four times since 2007.

For Bageshwar assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand, the counting will be done at 14 tables with 130 polling personnel on the job, district magistrate Anuradha Pal said.

In Uttar Pradesh, Ghosi seat fell vacant after the resignation of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA and OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan. He rejoined the BJP.

The by-election in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi saw the INDIA alliance putting up a united front. The voting was moderate at around 50.77 per cent. For the BJP, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath led the campaign. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav also addressed an election meeting in Ghosi.

The Bageshwar seat fell vacant after the death BJP leader and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April this year. He had won the seat four times since 2007.

Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav said that the people of Ghosi have voted for Sudhakar Singh and he would win the bypolls.

“Samajwadi Party has made all-out efforts to get seats for the INDIA bloc. We have been camping at Ghosi. People of Ghosi have cast votes in large numbers and these votes will result in the victory of SP candidate Sudhakar Singh. He will win the Ghosi seat,” said Shivpal Yadav.

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 8 am at centres set up in the respective states.