INDIA v NDA bypolls battle in seven assembly seats: Who are key candidates?

Voting is underway for bypolls on Ghosi seat in UP, Dhupguri in West Bengal, and five other seats in Jharkhand, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Kerala.

Voting is underway for seven assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Kerala, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand on Tuesday, the outcome of which will gauge the level of public support for the Opposition's I.N.D.I.A bloc or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. The results of these polls will be announced on Friday.

The counting of votes for the bypolls will be done on Friday.

These seats are namely Ghosi in UP, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri assembly seat in Jharkhand, Boxanagar and Dhanpur seats in Tripura, Bageshwar in the hill state of Uttarakhand and Puthuppally seat in Kerala. (Bypolls LIVE updates)

Both I.N.D.I.A and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance campaigned extensively for the bypolls, seen as a litmus test for I.N.D.I.A. These bypolls also come ahead of the major assembly elections scheduled in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Telangana later this year – the key semi-finale before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

In view of the high stakes, both the alliances placed bets on candidates they believe will sway the outcomes in their favour.

Here's the key candidates fielded in the bypolls:

Jharkhand: The bypoll to Dumri assembly seat was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA Jagarnath Mahto, who was also a minister in the Hemant Soren government. The I.N.D.I.A has fielded joint candidate Bebi Devi, the deceased leader's wife. While the NDA has placed its bet on Yashoda Devi, the All Jharkhand Student Union (AJSU) leader. Yashoda Devi had contested the 2019 assembly election on an AJSU ticket and stood second, losing to Mahto.

Tripura: The Boxanagar and Dhanpur seats in Tripura are witnessing bypolls due to the demise of sitting MLA Samsul Haque and resignation of Union minister Pratima Bhoumik. Boxanagar is considered a CPI(M) stronghold. Here, the Left has fielded Mizan Hussain, the son of MLA Haque who passed away. Meanwhile, the BJP has placed its bet on Tafajjal Hussain, who unsuccessfully contested the last assembly election from Boxanagar.

Dhanpur will see a fierce contest between BJP's Bindu Debnath and CPI(M)’s Kaushik Debnath. This constituency was once considered a stronghold of the Left, however, the BJP won this seat for the first time in the assembly poll held seven months ago.

West Bengal: Here, the Dhupguri assembly seat was vacated following the death of sitting MLA Bishnu Pada Ray. Here, an interesting triangular contest has emerged, putting I.N.D.I.A unity to test as the Trinamool Congress is contesting against Congress-CPI(M) alliance, also members of the Opposition bloc. The seat is currently held by the BJP. CPI (M)'s Ishwar Chandra Roy is contesting as the candidate of the Congress-Left alliance, while the ruling TMC has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy, a teacher by profession. Meanwhile, the BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan who died fighting terrorists in Kashmir a few years back.

Uttar Pradesh: The Ghosi bypoll is the first election battle between INDIA and the NDA in India's most populous state. The seat fell vacant after Samajwadi Party''s Dara Singh Chauhan resigned to join the BJP. The INDIA parties have extended their support to Samajwadi Party's candidate Sudhakar Singh. Singh will contest against the sitting MLA Chauhan who is seeking re-election after his crossover.

Uttarakhand: The Bageshwar seat in the hill state fell vacant after the demise of sitting MLA Chandan Ram Das. BJP candidate Parvati Das will fight the bypoll to retain her late husband's seat While the Congress has fielded Basant Kumar.

Kerala: Congress veteran Oommen Chandy's demise has prompted the election on Kerala' s Puthuppally seat. The Congress-UDF candidate for this seat is Chandy Oommen, the son of the late former chief minister, who represented the seat for 50 years. Meanwhile, the ruling party CPI(M) has fielded Jaick C Thomas from this constituency.