Assembly by-polls: High voter turnout in Kerala, Tripura, WB seats

 

 

HIGH voter turnout was recorded in most of the six Assembly constituencies in seven States where the by-election was held on Tuesday. The counting of votes is on September 8 for the by-election - seen as a litmus test for the opposition alliance INDIA against the BJP-led NDA ahead of the Assembly polls in five States later this year and the 2023 Lok Sabha election. In Dhanpur and Boxanagar seats in Tripura, where the Congress had extended support to the CPI(M), the average turnout was around 76 per cent. Six persons were injured in a stray incidents of violence in the northeastern state. In Dhupguri in West Bengal and Puthuppally in Kerala, where the INDIA bloc constituents were up against each other, the voting was around 76 per cent and nearly 73 per cent respectively.

 

The by-election saw the INDIA alliance also putting up a united front in the Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where the voting was moderate at around 50.30 per cent, and in Jharkhand’s Dumri where a total of 64.84 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters exercised their franchise Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar, where the main contest is between the BJP and the Congress, saw 55.44 per cent voting. Police said six persons were injured when they were allegedly attacked by some villagers at Mohanbhog in Dhanpur Assembly constituency in Tripura. The villagers set afire five motorcycles, triggering tension, but the situation was brought under control, a police officer said, adding that the injured have been admitted to hospital and are out of danger. Dhanpur, once a strong bastion of the communists, is heading for a direct fight between BJP’s Bindu Debnath and CPI(M)’s Kaushik Debnath.

 

The BJP won the Dhanpur seat for the first time in the assembly poll held seven months ago. The by-election to the Boxanagar constituency was necessitated by the death of CPI(M) MLA Samsul Haque. In Jharkhand’s Dumri, INDIA bloc candidate Bebi Devi is locked in a direct contest with NDA candidate Yashoda Devi. “The election passed off peacefully across 199 polling booths in Giridih and 174 booths in Bokaro district. No report of violence or law and order situation was reported from anywhere,” Giridih district election officer Naman Priyesh Lakra told PTI.

 

The polling was held amidst tight security in 373 polling stations, 200 of which were identified to be Maoist-affected areas. The seat has turned out to be a prestigious one for both alliances amid Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) claiming that the INDIA bloc will begin its victory journey from Dumri, while the NDA exuded confidence that it is all set to snatch the seat from JMM. The INDIA bloc includes 28 parties including the Congress, NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT), TMC, JMM, AAP, DMK, NC, PDP, CPI(M), CPI, RJD, SP and RLD. The by-election was necessitated following the death of JMM MLA Jagarnath Mahto, former education minister, in April. Mahto had been representing the seat since 2004. However, the Congress and the ruling Left took on each other at the Puthuppally bypoll in Kerala, with the opposition party in the state banking on “anti-incumbency” and the late Oommen Chandy’s legacy.