Bypolls election voting LIVE: Voting begins in 6 seats across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: The six seats were vacated after their sitting legislators resigned following the April 2026 Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Several leaders had contested from two constituencies and subsequently retained one.
Bypolls election voting LIVE: Voting begins at 7 am at six seats across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry, where bypolls are being held on Tuesday following an intense campaign....Read More
The bypolls will be held in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal, Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry’s Thattanchavady, and the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam.
The six seats were vacated after their sitting legislators resigned following the April 2026 Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Several leaders had contested from two constituencies and subsequently retained one.
West Bengal's by-elections
In West Bengal, Nandigram was vacated by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, who retained Bhabanipur after defeating TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.
Adhikari campaigned for BJP candidate Hasirani Rath, the mother of his slain aide Chandranath Rath, with a foot march in Nandigram on Sunday. During the campaign, he targeted his predecessor over her leg injury.
He alleged that the previous TMC government had “misused” the CID to frame BJP leaders in an attempt-to-murder case following Banerjee’s “false claims” of a leg injury during the 2021 polls.
The Rejinagar seat fell vacant after Humayun Kabir, founder of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), retained Nawda after winning both constituencies. His son, Golam Nabi Azad, is contesting the bypoll for AJUP.
The contest also features TMC’s Mamata faction candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, TMC’s Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction candidate Safiuzzaman Sheikh and Congress nominee Mohd Abdullahil Kafi.
Tamil Nadu
In Tamil Nadu, Madurantakam and Dharapuram were vacated by former AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama, respectively, after they joined actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay’s TVK. Vijay has fielded both former MLAs from their respective constituencies.
The DMK has fielded former MLA I Paranthamen from Madurantakam and Suganya from Dharapuram.
Vijay campaigned for Sathyabama in Dharapuram with a 40-km roadshow. Taking aim at the DMK, he accused the party of making remarks against women and said such attacks had “crossed the line”, adding that he would not remain silent.
Assam's Lok Sabha seat
In Assam, the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat became vacant in March after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned from the party, joined the BJP and subsequently won the Dispur assembly seat in the April polls.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigned for BJP candidate and former bureaucrat Devasish Sharma. Acknowledging the electoral challenge for the BJP in Nagaon, where Muslims constitute a majority of voters, Sarma nevertheless predicted a victory margin of 250,000–300,000 votes.
Puducherry:
In Puducherry, the Thattanchavady assembly seat was vacated by chief minister N Rangasamy after he retained Mangalam, having won both constituencies.
The seat is witnessing a multi-cornered contest, with 11 candidates in the fray, including those backed by the ruling AINRC-led combine and a united opposition.
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- 6 Oct 2026, 07:45:29 AM IST
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: BJP’s first test since TMC ouster, Opposition stakes rise
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: As Nandigram and Rejinagar go to the polls on Tuesday, the West Bengal bypolls carry significance well beyond the two Assembly seats, marking the BJP's first electoral test since ending the TMC's 15-year rule and triggering a battle among opposition parties for political space.
The contests will offer the BJP an early indication of voter sentiment towards its governance since taking office in May. At the same time, opposition parties are competing to establish themselves as the BJP's principal challenger, while all sides will be watching the voting pattern among the state's minority electorate.
Polling in both constituencies will be held on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.
Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said the bypolls were significant because the BJP's rise to power had created a new political vacuum for the Opposition.
“The main issue is who occupies the opposition space against the BJP. The bypolls will give us an indication of which party has the potential to emerge as the principal challenger,” he said.
The BJP swept the May elections, ending 15 years of TMC rule. The bypolls, however, are unlikely to constitute a verdict on the performance of a four-month-old government. They could nevertheless offer early clues about voter response to its governance and policy choices.
Of the two contests, Nandigram carries greater symbolic significance, given its history as a key battleground in Bengal's political transformation.
- 6 Oct 2026, 07:40:18 AM IST
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Vijay seeks AIADMK’s space as TVK takes on DMK in Tamil Nadu bypolls
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: The high-profile campaign by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, DMK president MK Stalin, Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami has underscored the political significance of the two bypolls in the state, with the results carrying importance for both the ruling and Opposition camps.
For Vijay's TVK, the outcome will indicate whether the party can strengthen its presence in the Assembly. The DMK, which was defeated in the April Assembly elections, will look to regain ground, while the AIADMK has mounted an aggressive campaign after being pushed to third place.
The bypolls in Madurantakam and Dharapuram are witnessing a five-cornered contest involving the ruling TVK, DMK, AIADMK, the Left Front and a Tamil nationalist party.
The Opposition has alleged that the bypolls were not a natural political development but were forced on voters due to alleged “horse-trading”. The TVK has rejected the charge, saying the AIADMK MLAs resigned and joined the party after becoming frustrated with attempts by the Palaniswami camp to align with the DMK to form a government.
Vijay's TVK has fielded former AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, respectively. In Madurantakam, the key challengers include DMK's I Paranthamen and AIADMK's Kanitha Sampath. In Dharapuram, TVK's Sathyabama faces DMK's S Suganya and AIADMK's K Bhanumathi.
During his campaign, Vijay positioned the TVK as the successor to the welfare-oriented political legacy of former AIADMK chief ministers MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, both of whom were longtime rivals of the DMK.
Vijay's pitch effectively seeks to expand the TVK's footprint into the political space traditionally occupied by the AIADMK.
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- 6 Oct 2026, 07:30:28 AM IST
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Voting begins for bypolls to Nandigram, Rejinagar assembly seats in Bengal
VIDEO | Bengal bypoll: Voters queue up outside polling booth in Nandigram amid tight security. #NandigramBypolls #BengalNews (Full video available on PTI videos - https://t.co/d8jp61yd2p) https://t.co/yZSUayOQes
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 6, 2026Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Polling for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies in West Bengal began at 7 am on Tuesday amid tight security arrangements, officials said.
- 6 Oct 2026, 07:26:17 AM IST
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Humayun Kabir casts vote in Rejinagar Assembly bypoll in Murshidabad
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chief and MLA Humayun Kabir cast his vote in the Rejinagar Assembly constituency by-election in Murshidabad, West Bengal, on Tuesday.
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- 6 Oct 2026, 07:12:06 AM IST
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Bypoll voting begins in 6 seats across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Voting for six bypoll seats across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry began at 7 am on Tuesday, with polling underway in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal, Madurantakam and Dharapuram in Tamil Nadu, Nagaon in Assam and Thattanchavady in Puducherry.
- 6 Oct 2026, 07:04:46 AM IST
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Security tightened outside Rejinagar polling station ahead of voting in Murshidabad
#WATCH | Murshidabad, West Bengal: Security visuals from outside a polling station ahead of the Rejinagar Assembly constituency bye-election. https://t.co/4wI8Wawvk4
— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2026Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Security personnel were deployed outside a polling station in Murshidabad, West Bengal, ahead of voting in the Rejinagar Assembly constituency bye-election on Tuesday.
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- 6 Oct 2026, 06:47:11 AM IST
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Nandigram, Rejinagar set for crucial first test of BJP government
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: The Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls on Tuesday are being closely watched as an early electoral test of the BJP government in West Bengal, while opposition parties compete to establish themselves as the principal challenger to the ruling party.
The contests are the first bypolls since the BJP ended the TMC’s 15-year rule and formed the government in the state in May. Besides offering an indication of the voter response to the new government, the results could also shape the emerging contest among opposition parties for political space.
The two constituencies are also being watched for indications of how minority voters, a significant electoral bloc in West Bengal, are aligning amid a fragmented opposition landscape.
Polling in Nandigram and Rejinagar will take place on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.
- 6 Oct 2026, 06:18:41 AM IST
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Tamil Nadu All Set For October 6 Bypolls In Madurantakam, Dharapuram
Bypolls Election Voting LIVE: Preparations are in place for polling on October 6 in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram assembly constituencies, with the results set to offer an early test of the fledgling TVK government and the prospects of the state’s major political players.
The high-profile campaign, which saw Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, DMK president MK Stalin, Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami take the field, has highlighted the importance attached to the two bypolls.
For the ruling TVK, the outcome could determine whether it is able to strengthen its position in the Assembly. The DMK, meanwhile, will look to use the bypolls to regain ground after its unexpected defeat in the April assembly elections. The AIADMK, which was relegated to third place, is also seeking to re-establish itself as a major force in the state’s opposition politics.
The two constituencies are witnessing a five-cornered contest involving the ruling TVK, opposition DMK, AIADMK, the Left Front and the Tamil nationalist TVK, making the results significant for the competing political formations ahead of the next electoral battle.
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