Assembly By-Polls Kick Off in Seven States

Polling has begun for 13 Assembly by-polls across seven states, including key constituencies in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh. Voting started at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. Various candidates from major political parties are contesting.

Polling for the Assembly by-polls commenced on Wednesday across 13 constituencies in seven states: Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh. The polling began at 7 am and is set to end at 6 pm.

In West Bengal, voters in Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Maniktala are heading to the polls. In Uttarakhand, the constituencies of Badrinath and Manglaur are conducting by-polls. Punjab's Jalandhar West, Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh, Rupauli in Bihar, Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu, and Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh are also holding elections.

Focusing on Himachal Pradesh, in the Dehra segment of Kangra district, INC's Kamlesh, BJP's Hoshyar Singh, and independent candidates Sulekha Devi, Arun Ankesh Syal, and Sanjay Sharma are competing. In the Hamirpur constituency, BJP's Ashish Sharma will face off against INC's Dr. Pushpinder Verma and independent candidates Pradeep Kumar and Nand Lal Sharma.

For Nalagarh, the candidates include INC's Hardeep Singh Bawa, BJP's KL Thakur, Swabhiman Party's Kishori Lal Sharma, and independent candidates Gurnam Singh, Harpreet Singh, and Vijay Singh. The vacancies arose after three independent MLAs joined the BJP.

In West Bengal's Maniktala, BJP's Kalyan Chaubey is contesting against TMC's Supti Pande, with similar matchups in Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda, and Raiganj between the BJP and TMC candidates.

In Punjab's Jalandhar West, AAP's candidate is Mohinder Bhagat, while the Congress has fielded Surinder Kaur. The seat was vacated after Aam Aadmi Party MLA Sheetal Angural resigned to join the BJP.

(With inputs from agencies.)