By-election polling updates: Voting for bypolls in 51 Assembly constituencies across 18 states concluded at 6 pm. While Arunachal Pradesh's Khonsa West Assembly constituency recorded highest turnout at 90.74 percent, Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest at 44.71 percent.
The Uttar Pradesh Election Commission issued a statement saying that no incidents of booth capturing, impersonation or bogus voting were reported till 5 pm across 11 Assembly seats in the state. The average polling percentage stood at 44.71 percent till 5.30 pm.
Of the five Assembly seats in Kerala, Konni recorded the highest polling at 64.6 percent while Ernakulum recorded the lowest at 40.3 percent till 5 pm. Manjeshwar recorded 50.2 percent polling, Vattiyoorkavu 51.4 percent and Aroor 64.7 percent. The average voter turnout in Kerala stood out at 54 percent.
In the by polls for the Samastipur Lok Sabha Assembly seat in Bihar 38 percent voter turnout was recorded till 4 pm while the voter turnout for the Satara Lok Sabha in Maharashtra was 48.4 percent. While the bypoll in Samastipur has been necessitated by the recent death of sitting Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP Ramchandra Paswan, younger brother of the party's founding president, the Satara bypoll was necessitated as NCP member Udayanraje Bhosale joined the BJP.
The Khonsa West Assembly constituency in Arunachal Pradesh recorded a high turnout of 89.27 percent at 4 pm while the average turnout in Uttar Pradesh across 11 seats continued at 36.9 percent at 4 pm. Khonsa West Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh is witnessing a straight contest between two Independent candidates - Chakat Aboh and Azet Hamtok. The polling will continue till 6 pm. The votes will be counted on 24 October.
The voter turnout for the Gangoh seat in Uttar Pradesh stood at 50.5 percent at 3.30 pm while Lucknow Cantt recorded lowest voter turnout at 21.85 percent. The average voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh was 36.9 percent.The bypolls were necessitated after some MLAs won the Lok Sabha elections and resigned as members of the state Assembly. The assembly constituency of Ghosi became vacant following the resignation of sitting MLA Phagu Chauhan after he was appointed as the Governor of Bihar.
The voter turnout for the Huzurnagar seat in Telangana stood at 52.89 percent at 2:30 pm. The Huzurnagar by-election was necessitated after sitting MLA and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy resigned as he successfully contested and won from the Nalgonda parliamentary seat during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The Nathnagar Assembly seat in Bihar, which fell vacant after JD(U)'s MLA Ajay Mandal got elected to the Lok Sabha, will see a tough fight between the incumbent party and the RJD. The JD(U), who is in possession of the seat currently, has fielded Lakshmikant Mandal, a former colleague of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
RJD has fielded Rabiya Khatoon from this seat, whereas Hindustani Awam Morcha, a partner of the RJD in the Mahagathbandhan has given the ticket to Ajay Roy.
According to sources, Mandal was keen on getting a ticket for a family member but JD(U) denied the request. As a result of which, Mandal is not showing any enthusiasm for the election, which is likey to damage JD(U)'s prospects. Since Nathnagar has a history of polarised voting, RJD is eyeing the Muslims and Yadav votes but that may not work as maximum Muslim voters reside in different states.
Average poll percentage stands at 28.98 percent in Uttar Pradesh across 11 Assembly constituency seats. Gangoh leads with 41.7 percent.
Bypolls in Tamil Nadu's two Assembly seats, Nanguneri and Vikravandi record 41.35 percent and at 54.17 percent by 1 pm repectively. Vikravandi was necessitated following the death of DMK legislator K.Rathamani in June, while the Nanguneri seat fell vacant as Congress legislator H Vasantha Kumar resigned after he got elector for the Lok Sabha.
A total of 23 candidates are in the fray in Vikravandi seeking the favour of about 2.24 lakh voters.
Gangoh sees highest voter turnout of 30.40% at 12 am, Manikpur at 18.70% across 11 constituency Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. The average polling percent in Uttar Pradesh till 11 am stands at 19.34 percent across 11 constituencies.
About 24 percent polling was recorded till 11:30 am for the two Assembly seats: Dharamshala and Pachhadin in Himachal Pradesh. The bypolls to the two Assembly segments are considered a test for Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur as the ruling BJP looks to not only retain the seats but also increase the margin. The opposition Congress is hopeful to win the two seats.
Only 12 votes have been cast at the Gaurela village in Chitrakot in Chhattisgarh. The villagers have announced a boycott call over non-development of their village. Six candidates are in fray from the seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, where the byelection was necessitated after Congress MLA Deepak Baij got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bastar parliamentary constituency.
The main contest is between the Congress and BJP. The Congress has fielded a new face, Rajman Benzam, local tribal leader and president of the Bastar district Congress (rural), while the BJP has given ticket to former MLA Lachhuram Kashyap.
Besides, Bomda Mandavi of the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), Hidmo Ram Mandavi of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Lakheshwar Kawasi of the Ambedkarite Party of India and Independent Ritika Karma are also in the fray.
The average polling percent in Uttar Pradesh till 11 am stands at 19.34 percent across 11 constituencies. Gangoh records the highest voter turn out with 30.40 percent and Govindnagar the lowest with 9.40 percent. The Assembly bypolls were necessitated after some MLAs won the Lok Sabha elections and resigned as members of the state Assembly. Ghosi Assembly seat fell vacant following the resignation of MLA Phagu Chauhan after he was appointed the Governor of Bihar.
Of the 11 seats, eight were held earlier by the BJP. Pratapgarh was represented by BJP-ally Apna Dal (Sonelal). The seats of Rampur and Jalalpur (Ambedkarnagar) were held by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, respectively.
Kerala is currently holding bypolls in five Assembly seats. The voter turn out of these seats by 11 am are: Manjeshwar with 20.39 percent, Eranakulam with 5.30 percent, Aroor with 9.66 percent, Konni with 19.81 percent and Vattiyoorkavu with 9.10 percent
Three Block Level officers (BLO) were taken in custody by sub-divisional magistrate of Aligarh, regarding the distribution of slips (Kacchi Parchi) by the political parties and allowing people to enter the premise to vote.
Issue of stray cows turns out to be a reason of poll boycott in Mahua village of Iglas, Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. Election officials are on their toes convincing the voters to go and cast their votes. The administration has assured the villagers that their problem will be solved to keep voters to continue polling.
Puducherry has recorded 11.60 percent voter turn out by 10 am on Monday
Samastipur (Parliamentary) Lok Sabha seat in Bihar has recorded 11 percent voter turn out by 10 am on Monday. Meanwhile, the five Assembly seats have recorded: Kishanganj with 14.5 percent, Simari Bakhtiyarpur with 13.1 percent, Daraunda 10.25 percent, Nathnagar 11.5 percent, Belhar 14 percent.
About half a dozen villages in Iglas, Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh have boycotted the voting saying that there is no use of exercising the franchise as no development work has been done in their area despite making several requests to the administration and representatives. Average polling percentage stand at 8.43 percent in Uttar Pradesh.
No reports of violence, bogus voting, booth capturing reported so far. The maximum numbers of seats going to bypolls are in Uttar Pradesh where voters will be choosing their MLA on 11 seats. These seats are Pratapgarh, Zaidpur (SC), Balha (SC), Rampur, Iglas (SC), Lucknow Cantonment, Manikpur, Jalalpur, Ghosi, Gangoh, and Govind Nagar. Currently, polling across most constituencies are going on peacefully.
EVMs at booth number 61 and 62 have developed snag since more than one and a half-hour in Chitrakoot. Voters have started to return.
Polling began at 8 am and will end at 5 pm, an election official said. A total of 229 polling booths have been set up for the by-poll in Bastar district and 16 in the neighbouring Sukma district, he said.
As many as 916 polling personnel have been deployed at these booths, he said, adding that around 70 booths have been categorised as 'hyper-sensitive' and 93 as 'sensitive'. As many as 1,67,911 people, including 79,284 men, 88,626 men and one from the third gender, are eligible to cast their votes, he added.
In the by-election going on at Chitrakot constituency of Chhattisgarh, the Election Commission has also shifted five polling booths to a nearby booth as they were placed at the remote and sensitive area.
This constituency falls under sensitive region due to Naxal activity. The EC has declared 54 polling stations as highly-sensitive and 93 as sensitive out of the 229 total polling stations.
Political parties of Bihar have chosen kins to contest in bypoll for the five assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
At least four candidates from the ruling party JDU, LJP and opposition party Congress has fielded kins of politicians.
Congress has fielded Sayeeda Banu, mother of Dr Javed who had won Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat in 2019 general election. Though Dr Javed's father has been in politics for a long time.
The JD(U) has given ticket to Laldhari Yadav from Belhar Assembly which falls under Banka district. Laldhari Yadav, brother of Giridhari Yadav, who got election to Lok Sabha in 2019 general election. Ajay Singh contesting on the ticket of JDU from Daraundha Assembly constituency. The seat fell vacant after Ajay’s wife Kavita Singh made it to the Lok Sabha on a JD(U) ticket from Siwan.
Similarly, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has given ticket to Prince Raj, son of Ramchandra Paswan. Ramchandra Paswan had won Samastipur Lok Sabha constituency recently concluded general election. The seat fell vacant due to sudden demise of Ramchandra Paswan.
Voting at booth number 225 Ghosi assembly constituency, has been halted from last 40 minutes owing to EVM glitch. New machine has been requested.
Chandal polling station under Belhar constituency witnessed a little delay in polling owing to rain. This area falls in Banka district of Bihar. According to authorities, it is a naxal-affected area and so the polling will take place till 4 pm only.
Not even a single voter has turned up to exercise his/her franchise in the posh Dilkusha area of Lucknow. The polling was started half an hour ago. In such case the election officials are bound to go and convince the voters to come out and vote.
Voting across 18 states for 51 Assembly, two Lok Sabha seats begins.
Along with the polling in two Legislative Assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra, voting for by-elections to 64 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha constituency spread across 18 states will be held on 21 October 2019 (Monday). According to the Election Commission, voting for these seats will begin at 7 am on 21 October 2019 in the respective polling booths.
While Assembly bypolls will be held on 64 Assembly seats, the Samastipur Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar will also have a bypoll. These Assembly seats include 15 in Karnataka and 11 in Uttar Pradesh.
While announcing the poll schedule for Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India announced dates for bypolls in 64 Assembly seats and a Lok Sabha seat. Subsequently, it added two more Assembly bypolls in Gujarat and Maharashtra’s Satara Lok Sabha seat to the list.
Click here for detailed coverage of Assembly Elections 2019
The 11 Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats mostly belong to MLAs who lost the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections and had to resign as MLAs.
The Samastipur (Bihar) Lok Sabha by-election was necessitated after the death of sitting MP Ram Chandra Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party in July.
Here's a list of Assembly by-election seats scheduled to go to polls on 21 October, sorted by states:
Arunachal Pradesh (1)
Khonsa
Assam (4)
Ratabari
Jania
Rangapara
Sonari
Bihar (5)
Kishanganj
Simri Bakhtiarpur
Daraunda
Nathnagar
Belhar
Chhattisgarh (1)
Chitrakot
Gujarat (6)
Tharad
Kheralu
Amraiwadi
Lunawad
Radhanpur
Bayad
Himachal Pradesh (2)
Dharamshala
Pachhad
Kerala (5)
Manjeshwar
Ernakulam
Aroor
Konni
Vattiyoorkavu
Madhya Pradesh (1)
Jhabua
Meghalaya (1)
Shella
Odisha (1)
Bijepur
Puducherry (1)
Kamraj Nagar
Punjab (4)
Phagwara
Mukerian
Dakha
Jalalabad
Rajasthan (2)
Mandawa
Khinwsar
Sikkim (3)
Poklok
Martam
Gangtok
Tamil Nadu (2)
Vikravandi
Nanguneri
Telangana (1)
Huzurnagar
Uttar Pradesh (11)
Gangoh
Rampur
Islas
Lucknow Cantt.
Govindnagar
Manikpur
Pratapgarh
Zaidpur
Jalalpur
Balha
Ghosi
Lok Sabha bypolls will be held in:
Samastipur, Bihar
Satara, Maharashtra
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.
Updated Date: Oct 21, 2019 19:20:15 IST
Highlights
Assembly bypolls: Polling concludes; Arunachal Pradesh's Khonsa West records highest turnout at 90.74 %
Polling for 51 constituencies across 18 states concluded at 6 pm. While Arunachal Pradesh's Khonsa West Assembly constituency recorded highest turnout at 90.74 percent, Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest at 44.71 percent.
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Polling remains peaceful, says EC
The Uttar Pradesh Election Commission issued a statement saying that no incidents of booth capturing, impersonation or bogus voting were reported till 5 pm across 11 Assembly seats in the state. The average polling percentage stood at 44.47 percent.
Assembly bypolls: Arunachal Pradesh records highest voter turnout at 80.96% till 3.30 pm
Himachal Pradesh bypolls: Voter turnout in Dharamshala, Pachhad at 1 pm
The voter turnout till 1 pm in the Dharamshala and Pachhad constituencies of Himachal Pradesh has been recorded at 37.60 percent and 43.61 percent, respectively.
Kerala bypolls: Heavy rains affect polling in Ernakulam Assembly constituency
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Average poll percentage stands at 28.98% by 1 pm
Inputs by Saurabh Sharma/ 101 Reporters
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Gangoh sees highest voter turnout of 30.40% at 12 am, Manikpur at 18.70%
Chhattisgarh bypolls: Only 12 votes casted in Gaurela village
Only 12 votes have been cast at the Gaurela village in Chitrakot in Chhattisgarh. The villagers have announced a boycott call over non-development of their village.
Six candidates are in fray from the seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, where the byelection was necessitated after Congress MLA Deepak Baij got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bastar parliamentary constituency.
The main contest is between the Congress and BJP. The Congress has fielded a new face, Rajman Benzam, local tribal leader and president of the Bastar district Congress (rural), while the BJP has given ticket to former MLA Lachhuram Kashyap.
Besides, Bomda Mandavi of the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), Hidmo Ram Mandavi of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Lakheshwar Kawasi of the Ambedkarite Party of India and Independent Ritika Karma are also in the fray.
Input by Dhirendra Shukla, 101Reporters
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Average voter turnout at 11 am stands at 19.32%
The average polling percent in Uttar Pradesh till 11 am stands at 19.34 percent across 11 constituencies. Gangoh records the highest voter turn out with 30.40 percent and Govindnagar the lowest with 9.40 percent.
The Assembly bypolls were necessitated after some MLAs won the Lok Sabha elections and resigned as members of the state Assembly. Ghosi Assembly seat fell vacant following the resignation of MLA Phagu Chauhan after he was appointed the Governor of Bihar.
Of the 11 seats, eight were held earlier by the BJP. Pratapgarh was represented by BJP-ally Apna Dal (Sonelal). The seats of Rampur and Jalalpur (Ambedkarnagar) were held by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, respectively.
Inputs by Saurabh Sharma/101Reporters
Kerala bypolls: Voter turn out at 11 am
Inputs by Team 101Reporters
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Three Block Level officers taken into custody
Three Block Level officers (BLO) were taken in custody by sub-divisional magistrate of Aligarh, regarding the distribution of slips (Kacchi Parchi) by the political parties and allowing people to enter the premise to vote.
They have been released after questioning and it was found that four unauthorized polling agents from the Azad Hind college tried to enter the premise. All these four polling agents have been taken in custody.
Input by Shannu Khan, 101Reporters.
UP bypolls: Independent candidate alleges administration of being behind EVM snags
Sudhakar Singh, an independent candidate who has got the support of Samajwadi Party (SP) has alleged that the administration is behind the snags in the EVMs, Ghosi, Mau in Uttar Pradesh.
Input by Tanmay Baranwal/ 101Reporters
Sikkim bypolls: Youngest candidate casts his vote in Poklok Kamrang constituency
Sikkim Democratic Front candidate Moses Rai, 27, who is the youngest candidate in the Sikkim bypolls, cast his vote at the Kamrang Secondary School under Poklok Kamrang constituency.
Input by Roshan Gupta/101Reporters
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Villages in Aligarh district boycott voting over lack of development work
About half a dozen villages in Iglas, Aligarh have boycotted the voting saying that there is no use of exercising the franchise as no development work has been done in their area despite making several requests to the administration and representatives.
Input by Yogesh Bharadwaj, 101Reporters
Chhattisgarh bypolls: Naxal-hit Chitrakot records 7.5% voter turn out so far
7.5 percent voting in dacoits affected Chitrakot is a sign that both Naxal and dacoits have been eliminated in area. People are no longer hesitate in coming out to vote in Chhattisgarh.
Input by Tanmay Baranwal, 101Reporters
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Average polling stands at 8.43 percent
Average polling percentage stand at 8.43 percent in Uttar Pradesh. No reports of violence, bogus voting, booth capturing reported so far.
Input by Saurabh Sharma, 101Reporters
Chhattisgarh bypolls: Technical hold up force voters to return home without polling
EVMs at booth number 61 and 62 have developed snag since more than one and a half-hour in Chitrakoot. Voters have started to return.
Polling began at 8 am and will end at 5 pm, an election official said. A total of 229 polling booths have been set up for the by-poll in Bastar district and 16 in the neighbouring Sukma district, he said.
As many as 916 polling personnel have been deployed at these booths, he said, adding that around 70 booths have been categorised as 'hyper-sensitive' and 93 as 'sensitive'. As many as 1,67,911 people, including 79,284 men, 88,626 men and one from the third gender, are eligible to cast their votes, he added.
Input by Yogesh Bharadwaj, 101Reporters
Odisha bypolls: Polling currently underway for Bijepur by-election in state
The voting has begun for the by-poll to Bijepur Assembly constituency in Odisha's Bargarh district this morning. Polling started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.
A total of 2.32 lakh eligible voters ( 1.20 lakh male and 1.12 lakh female) are expected to exercise their franchise in 285 polling booths in the constituency.
Sushil Kumar Lohani, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has said 129 polling stations have been identified as critical. All arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the poll, he said.
MP bypolls: Congress files complaint on Violation of Model Code of Conduct against BJP MP president
Congress leader and in-charge of election commission related work in the party JP Dhanopia filed a complaint to the Chief Election Officer of Madhya Pradesh against BJP state president Rakesh Singh.
In the complaint Dhanopia alleged Singh of violating the Model Code of Conduct by making an appeal to cast vote to BJP candidate of Jhabua by-election of Madhya Pradesh on Twitter even after the end of the election campaign. Dhanopia also attached a screenshot of the Twitter post as evidence with the complaint filed over mail.
Input by Manish Chandra Mishra/101Reporters
Chhattisgarh bypolls: CG election authorities shift five polling stations for security reasons
In the by-election going on at Chitrakot constituency of Chhattisgarh, the Election Commission has also shifted five polling booths to a nearby booth as they were placed at the remote and sensitive area.
This constituency falls under sensitive region due to Naxal activity. The EC has declared 54 polling stations as highly-sensitive and 93 as sensitive out of the 229 total polling stations.
Input by Manish Chandra Mishra/101Reporters
Bihar bypolls: Dynasty politics at play in 5 Assembly, one Lok Sabha seat in state
Political parties of Bihar have chosen kins to contest in bypoll for the five assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
At least four candidates from the ruling party JDU, LJP and opposition party Congress has fielded kins of politicians.
Congress has fielded Sayeeda Banu, mother of Dr Javed who had won Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat in 2019 general election. Though Dr Javed's father has been in politics for a long time.
The JD(U) has given ticket to Laldhari Yadav from Belhar Assembly which falls under Banka district. Laldhari Yadav, brother of Giridhari Yadav, who got election to Lok Sabha in 2019 general election. Ajay Singh contesting on the ticket of JDU from Daraundha Assembly constituency. The seat fell vacant after Ajay’s wife Kavita Singh made it to the Lok Sabha on a JD(U) ticket from Siwan.
Similarly, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has given ticket to Prince Raj, son of Ramchandra Paswan. Ramchandra Paswan had won Samastipur Lok Sabha constituency recently concluded general election. The seat fell vacant due to sudden demise of Ramchandra Paswan.
Inputs by Umesh Kumar Ray/101Reporters
Tamil Nadu bypolls: Voting in Nanguneri continues amidst rains as people wait to vote
Technical issues in EVMs at Thodaravi village of Vikravandi. Voting has been paused for 45 minutes
Input by Swathi J Reddy and Dhanabal Govindhan/101Reporters
MP bypolls: Poll process delayed due to EVM glitch in Jhabua constituency
The polling station of Samoi booth number 237 of Ranapur area of Jhabua constituency witnessed a delay in polling due to a glitch in the EVM. Authorities are replacing the machine. Election officers claimed that there is 200 percent stock of EVM machines and number of poll parties are roaming in area so that the replacement of machines could be faster.
Input by Manish Chandra Mishra/101Reporters
Bihar bypolls: EVM glitch delays polling in Kishanganj constituency
EVM glitch reported at booth number 234 in Kishanganj constituency in Bihar. The poll process has been delayed due to this. Polling officers have initiated the replacement process of the machine.
Input by Manish Chandra Mishra/101Reporters
Bihar bypolls: AIMIM may damage Congress in Kishanganj Assembly seat
By-poll in Seemanchal seat Kishanganj has become interesting as Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM has also fielded it's candidate Kamrul Huda. In 2019 general election Owaisi had fielded Akhtarul Imam from Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat. Akhtarul had got 295029 votes and stood third which implies AIMIM has its vote bank in the area.
Last month RSS thinker and Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha had said that NRC should be implemented in Seemanchal of Bihar as there are infiltrations residing in the area. Some BJP leaders had corroborated him.
AIMIM has made NRC major poll issue to gather minority votes.
Inputs by Umesh Kumar Ray/101Reporters
Bihar bypolls: Polling delayed due to rain in Chandal constituency seat
Chandal polling station under Belhar constituency witnessed a little delay in polling owing to rain. This area falls in Banka district of Bihar. According to authorities, it is a naxal-affected area and so the polling will take place till 4 pm only.
Inputs by Manish Chandra Mishra/101Reporters
Lucknow bypolls: Not even one voter turns up in posh Dikusha area in UP's capital
Not even a single voter has turned up to exercise his/her franchise in the posh Dilkusha area of Lucknow. The polling was started half an hour ago. In such case the election officials are bound to go and convince the voters to come out and vote.
Photo and input by Indal Kashyap, 101Reporters
MP bypolls: Two BJP leaders were booked for violation of Model code of conduct
BJP MLA from Indore, Ramesh Mendola was booked for allegedly violating Model code of Conduct on Sunday. He was allegedly entering the Jhabua constituency after election campaign was over. Another BJP leader Gaurav Ranadive was also booked for the same. MLA Mendole alleged administration of being biased. He tweeted that he travelling from Dahod to Indore on the only road connecting the cities, but not campaigning. He claimed that the police are working like election workers of Congress.
Input by Manish Chandra Mishra/101Reporters
UP bypolls: By-elections in upper-caste stronghold Lucknow Cantt to be held today
The prestigious seat of Lucknow Cantt which is dominated by the upper caste votes is also going to the bypolls after the incumbent Rita Bahuguna Joshi won the Lok Sabha elections from Prayagraj, formerly Allahabad, in May.
The seat has been held by upper-caste leaders 11 times since 1957. There are presently 3.85 lakh voters on this seat out of which 2.09 lakh are male, 24 are from the third gender while the rest are females.
It was the Congress’ stronghold till 1991 and voters started tilting towards the BJP after the Ram Temple movement in 1991. However, this time the BJP may face a tough situation owing to the rising crime and lawlessness in the posh areas but experts believe that winning this seat will be a cake walk for the Saffron party.
Input by Saurabh Sharma, 101Reporters.
Voting across 18 states for 51 Assembly, two Lok Sabha seats begins
Azam Khan seeks to hold SP bastion Rampur seat in bypolls today
With more than 70 police cases in the last few months against Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, the bypolls in Rampur, has become a prestige battle for him.
A heated war of words was witnessed during the campaigning between Azam Khan and BJP leader Jaya Prada. The Rampur seat is considered to be the bastion of the Samajwadi Party with Azam Khan being the nine-time MLA.
It was however expected that the BJP will consider a Muslim candidate for these elections in view of the large number of Muslim votes, but Bharat Bhoosan was declared as the party candidate at 11th hour.
With inputs from Kamal Bhargava, 101Reporters
BJP seeks to continue its winning streak in UP bypoll
The BJP would want to continue its winning streak which is shown by the aggressive campaigning done by the BJP on all the 11 seats. The BJP has 312 MLAs in the state assembly.
Of the 11 assembly seats polling today, eight were held by the BJP, two by the Samajwadi Party and one by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Bypolls in 11 seats in Uttar Pradesh to be held today
In Uttar Pradesh, with as many as 11 seats going in the bypolls, there are four major parties trying their best to capture the maximum seats. For Akhilesh Yadav, who was dumped by the BSP supremo Mayawati post 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it has become a challenge to get the maximum seats. The Samajwadi Party currently has 47 members in the state assembly.
Satara Lok Sabha constituency to by-poll to be held today
The bypoll for Satara Lok Sabha constituency will also be held on 21 October. Former NCP leader and sitting MP Udayanraje Bhosale is in the fray from the seat on a BJP ticket against Shriniwas Patil of the Congress-NCP combine.
Samastipur Lok Sabha contituency to hold by-poll today
While Assembly by-polls will be held on 64 Assembly seats, the Samastipur Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar will also have a bypoll. These Assembly seats include 15 in Karnataka and 11 in Uttar Pradesh.
In this seat, was held by Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance.
By polls in 51 Assembly seats, 2 Lok Sabha constituencies to be held today
Along with the polling in two Legislative Assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra, voting for by-elections to 51 Assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 18 states will be held on 21 October (Monday). According to the Election Commission, voting for these seats will begin at 7 am on 21 October 2019 in the respective polling booths.
LIVE NEWS and UPDATES
19:05 (IST)
Voting in bypolls for 51 Assembly constituencies concludes: Voter turnout at 6.30 pm
18:53 (IST)
Lok Sabha bypolls: Polling concludes; Bihar's Samastipur records 44.64% polling
Lok Sabha seat
Estimated Turnout
Bihar- Samastipur(SC)
44.64%
Maharashtra- Satara
60.75%
18:22 (IST)
Assembly bypolls: Polling concludes; Arunachal Pradesh's Khonsa West records highest turnout at 90.74 %
Polling for 51 constituencies across 18 states concluded at 6 pm. While Arunachal Pradesh's Khonsa West Assembly constituency recorded highest turnout at 90.74 percent, Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest at 44.71 percent.
18:02 (IST)
Tamil Nadu bypolls: Congress MP spotted in Nanguneri Assembly constituency, detained
Congress MP H Vasanthakumar was detained for allegedly staying in Nanguneri Assembly constituency where a bypoll is underway, PTI reported police as saying.
Though Vasanthakumar, whose resignation on his election to Lok Sabha necessitated the bypoll, claimed he was on his way to his home in nearby Palayamkottai, police said he was detained at a place where the MP need not have to go for reaching his destination.
A case would also be registered against Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president KS Alagiri for alleged violation of code of conduct, police said. He allegedly stayed in Nanguneri and conducted a press meet at Reddiyarpatti.
17:47 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Polling remains peaceful, says EC
The Uttar Pradesh Election Commission issued a statement saying that no incidents of booth capturing, impersonation or bogus voting were reported till 5 pm across 11 Assembly seats in the state. The average polling percentage stood at 44.47 percent.
17:24 (IST)
Kerala bypolls: Average voter turnout stands at 54% at 5 pm
Of the five Assembly seats in Kerala, Konni recorded the highest polling at 64.6 percent while Ernakulum recorded the lowest at 40.3 percent till 5 pm. Manjeshwar recorded 50.2 percent polling, Vattiyoorkavu 51.4 percent and Aroor 64.7 percent.
17:11 (IST)
Himachal Pradesh bypolls: Average voter turnout stands at 55.6% at 5 pm
While the Dharamshala Assembly seat recorded 52.18 percent polling till 5 pm, Pacchad recorded 59.4 percent.
16:42 (IST)
Samastipur LS seat in Bihar records 38% polling till 4 pm, Satara LS seat in Maharashtra 48.4%
16:06 (IST)
Assembly bypolls: Arunachal Pradesh records highest voter turnout at 80.96% till 3.30 pm
15:43 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh Bypolls: Average poll percentage stands at 36.9% at 3.30 pm
15:17 (IST)
Odisha bypolls: Voter turnout in lone seat in Odisha's Bijepur stands at 37.1%
The voter turnout at the lone seat in Odisha, Bijepur, stands at 37.10 percent. The by-election to the politically sensitive constituency in west Odisha was necessitated after chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who had won two segments in the assembly polls held early this year, resigned from Bijepur and retained his home turf Hinjili in Ganjam district.
Though there are five candidates in the fray, the contest is mainly between ruling BJD candidate Rita Sahu and BJP's Sanat Gartia in Bijepur, which was earlier a Congress bastion.
The Congress has fielded its Bargarh district unit vice-president Dillip Kumar Panda, seen as a greenhorn, in the assembly segment.
With inputs from PTI
14:58 (IST)
Telangana bypolls: Voter turnout in Huzurnagar stands at 52.89% at 2.30 pm
The voter turnout for the Huzurnagar seat in Telangana stood at 52.89 percent at 2:30 pm. The Huzurnagar by-election was necessitated after sitting MLA and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy resigned as he successfully contested and won from the Nalgonda parliamentary seat during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
14:54 (IST)
Overall voter turnout in Assembly and Lok Sabha bypolls
In addition to the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana on Monday, bypolls were also conducted in 51 Assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats across 18 states. The total voter turnout in the Assembly seats is 34.29 percent and in the Parliamentary seats is 33.49 percent till 2 pm.
14:36 (IST)
Maharashtra bypolls: Voter turnout for Satara LS seat at 36.03% till 2 pm
The voter turnout recorded in the by-election of the Satara Lok Sabha constituency is 36.03 percent till 2 pm. The bypoll was necessitated after sitting MP from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Udayanraje Bhosale, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after resigning from the Lok Sabha. Bhosale, now contesting on a BJP ticket, is being challenged by NCP’s Shriniwas Patil.
14:28 (IST)
Bihar bypolls: RJD, JD(U) fight it out in Nathnagar
The Nathnagar Assembly seat in Bihar, which fell vacant after JD(U)'s MLA Ajay Mandal got elected to the Lok Sabha, will see a tough fight between the incumbent party and the RJD. The JD(U), who is in possession of the seat currently, has fielded Lakshmikant Mandal, a former colleague of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
RJD has fielded Rabiya Khatoon from this seat, whereas Hindustani Awam Morcha, a partner of the RJD in the Mahagathbandhan has given the ticket to Ajay Roy.
According to sources, Mandal was keen on getting a ticket for a family member but JD(U) denied the request. As a result of which, Mandal is not showing any enthusiasm for the election, which is likey to damage JD(U)'s prospects. Since Nathnagar has a history of polarised voting, RJD is eyeing the Muslims and Yadav votes but that may not work as maximum Muslim voters reside in different states.
Input by Umesh Kumar Ray
14:16 (IST)
Himachal Pradesh bypolls: Voter turnout in Dharamshala, Pachhad at 1 pm
The voter turnout till 1 pm in the Dharamshala and Pachhad constituencies of Himachal Pradesh has been recorded at 37.60 percent and 43.61 percent, respectively.
13:57 (IST)
Kerala bypolls: Heavy rains affect polling in Ernakulam Assembly constituency
13:46 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Average poll percentage stands at 28.98% by 1 pm
Inputs by Saurabh Sharma/ 101 Reporters
13:29 (IST)
Tamil Nadu bypolls: Voter turnout by 1 pm
Inputs by Abdul Kathar/101Reporters
13:26 (IST)
Bihar bypolls: Kishanganj records 21% average voter turnout by 12 pm, Daraundha at 9.77%
13:22 (IST)
Bihar Samastipur Lok Sabha bypolls: LJP chief Ram Vilas's kin in fray again
Owing to the sudden demise of Ramchandra Paswan, brother of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, Bihar's Samastipur Lok Sabha seat had become vacant. Ram Vilas has fielded Prince Raj, son of Ramchandra Paswan for this seat.
In 2019 general election, LJP was given six seats. Among these six seats, three seats were occupied by Ram Vilas Paswan and his family members.
Samastipur is a reserved seat. In 2019 general election, Ramchandra Paswan had received 5,62,443 votes and won the seat with a margin of around 2.5 lakhs votes. In 2014 general elections, he had received 2,73,654 votes.
Congress has given ticket to Ashok Kumar. He is contesting for the third time from this seat. Since the Lok Sabha elections had concluded just a few months ago, it is believed that Prince Raj will get the benefit of Narendra Modi wave, and apart from that he will get the emotional benefit too as his father has passed away recently. Prince Raj currently heads the student wing of LJP.
Inputs by Umesh Kumar Ray/101Reporters
Photo by Ganesh Prasad/101Reporters
13:10 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Gangoh sees highest voter turnout of 30.40% at 12 am, Manikpur at 18.70%
13:04 (IST)
Rajasthan bypolls: Congress candidate Harendra Mirdha cast his vote in his native village in Khinwsar Assembly seat
Voting in Khinwsar Assembly is currently underway in Rajasthan. The state is holding by-elections in two seats: Mandawa and Khinwsar.
After the voting began, Congress candidate Harendra Mirdha cast his vote in his native village Kuchera. While RLP-BJP candidate Narayan Beniwal could not exercise his vote as his ancestral village falls under Barangaon Nagaur assembly constituency.
Khinwsar by-election are taking place after RLP’s Hauman Beniwal who won the seat in 2018 assembly elections vacated the seat after winning the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The seat still remains a prestige point for Hanuman Beniwal and the Congress.
A total of 2,51,203 voters will exercise their vote in the Khinwsar Assembly by-election, 266 polling booths have been set up to elect the MLA.
Input by Rajendra Sharma/101Reporters
12:58 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh polls: Zaidpur seat waits for a better representative
The Zaidpur seat which is polling today was once home to hundreds of handlooms and machine looms but the apathy of the government and lack of interest by the representatives the town saw a huge decline in the fabric industry.
Presently, only 17 handloom and machine looms are operational in the area as most of the men from the area have moved to the Middle-East in search of better employment opportunities.
This time the party leaders have promised the residents of Zaidpur of reviving the industry but for the residents, this seems to be a promise of the moon. The seat is dominated by Muslim voters.
Inputs by Saurabh Sharma/101Reporters.
12:46 (IST)
Himachal bypoll: 24% polling recorded till 11:30 am
About 24 percent polling was recorded till 11:30 am for the two Assembly seats: Dharamshala and Pachhadin in Himachal Pradesh.
12:41 (IST)
Punjab bypolls: 29% polling recorded on four assembly seats till 11 AM
Polling was underway for the bypolls to four assembly seats—Phagwara (reserve), Jalalabad, Dakha and Mukerian in Punjab with up to 29 per cent voting being registered in these constituencies.
12:31 (IST)
Chhattisgarh bypolls: Only 12 votes casted in Gaurela village
Only 12 votes have been cast at the Gaurela village in Chitrakot in Chhattisgarh. The villagers have announced a boycott call over non-development of their village.
Six candidates are in fray from the seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, where the byelection was necessitated after Congress MLA Deepak Baij got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bastar parliamentary constituency.
The main contest is between the Congress and BJP. The Congress has fielded a new face, Rajman Benzam, local tribal leader and president of the Bastar district Congress (rural), while the BJP has given ticket to former MLA Lachhuram Kashyap.
Besides, Bomda Mandavi of the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), Hidmo Ram Mandavi of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Lakheshwar Kawasi of the Ambedkarite Party of India and Independent Ritika Karma are also in the fray.
Input by Dhirendra Shukla, 101Reporters
12:25 (IST)
Telangana bypolls: Huzurnagar records average voter turnout of 31.34% by 11 am
In the southern state of Telagana, one Assembly seat Huzurnagar is going to poll on Monday, which has recorded 31.34% average voter turnout by 11 am. Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) has fielded Saidi Reddy in Huzurnagar while the Congress has fielded Uttam Kumar Reddy’s wife N Padmavati Reddy, who is a former MLA. The bypoll, the first after last year’s assembly polls in Telangana, has been necessitated due to the resignation of state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy following his election to the Lok Sabha.
12:14 (IST)
Sikkim bypolls: Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia to contest from Gangtok
In the earlier April 2019 Assembly polls Bhaichung Bhutia has got only 70 votes from Gangtok, a seat he is contesting again in the by-polls. "The vote turn out is bad, we expect a hike in the voter turnout out in the second half. Last elections, we were not in the race. Change is a must in Sikkim as BJP, SDF (Sikkim Democratic Front) and SKM (Sikkim Krantikari Morcha) have come together. This is very scary." he said.
Former Chief minister of Sikkim Pawan Kumar Chamling, considerably weakened after the defections of 10 SDF MLAs to BJP and two Joined Sikkim Krantikari Morcha. The defection has put up candidates in all three seats.
SKM won 17 seats of the 32 Assembly seats, SDF won 15, with one SKM legislator and two SDF legislature. However, on 10 August, 10 of the 13 SDF MLAs switched to BJP and two joined SKM. The Sikkim assembly at present has 18 SKM members, 10 BJP and former chief Minister Pawan Chamling as the sole SDF legislator.
Inputs by Roshan Gupta/101Reporters
12:05 (IST)
PHOTO: Hamro Sikkim Party working president and former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia at Urban Development Department polling booth under Gangtok constituency, the constituency he is fighting from.
Photo by Roshan Gupta/101Reporters
11:45 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Average voter turnout at 11 am stands at 19.32%
The average polling percent in Uttar Pradesh till 11 am stands at 19.34 percent across 11 constituencies. Gangoh records the highest voter turn out with 30.40 percent and Govindnagar the lowest with 9.40 percent.
The Assembly bypolls were necessitated after some MLAs won the Lok Sabha elections and resigned as members of the state Assembly. Ghosi Assembly seat fell vacant following the resignation of MLA Phagu Chauhan after he was appointed the Governor of Bihar.
Of the 11 seats, eight were held earlier by the BJP. Pratapgarh was represented by BJP-ally Apna Dal (Sonelal). The seats of Rampur and Jalalpur (Ambedkarnagar) were held by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, respectively.
Inputs by Saurabh Sharma/101Reporters
11:30 (IST)
Meghalaya bypolls: Voter turnout records 22.72% by 11 am
At 11 am, the voter turnout stands at 22.72% for the Shella Assembly seat in Meghalaya. According to the Telegraph, there are six candidates in the fray to be the successor to late Donkupar Roy, Assembly speaker and president of United Democratic Party (UDP), who has represented the seat for seven consecutive terms since 1988.
Inputs by Kyrmenlang Uriah/101Reporters
11:18 (IST)
Kerala bypolls: Voter turn out at 11 am
Inputs by Team 101Reporters
11:11 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Three Block Level officers taken into custody
Three Block Level officers (BLO) were taken in custody by sub-divisional magistrate of Aligarh, regarding the distribution of slips (Kacchi Parchi) by the political parties and allowing people to enter the premise to vote.
They have been released after questioning and it was found that four unauthorized polling agents from the Azad Hind college tried to enter the premise. All these four polling agents have been taken in custody.
Input by Shannu Khan, 101Reporters.
11:06 (IST)
Rajasthan bypolls: Voter turnout at 11 am in 2 seats
Inputs by 101 Reporters
10:58 (IST)
UP bypolls: Independent candidate alleges administration of being behind EVM snags
Sudhakar Singh, an independent candidate who has got the support of Samajwadi Party (SP) has alleged that the administration is behind the snags in the EVMs, Ghosi, Mau in Uttar Pradesh.
Input by Tanmay Baranwal/ 101Reporters
10:50 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Villages in Iglas boycott polling over issue of stray cows
Issue of stray cows turns out to be a reason of poll boycott in Mahua village of Iglas, Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. Election officials are on their toes convincing the voters to go and cast their votes. The administration has assured the villagers that their problem will be solved to keep voters to continue polling.
Input by Yogesh Bharadwaj, 101Reporters.
10:46 (IST)
Tamil Nadu bypolls: Voter turnout at 10 am
Puducherry has recorded 11.60 percent voter turn out by 10 am on Monday, while two seats in Tamil Nadu have seen decent voter percentage by 11 am.
Inputs by 101 Reporters team
10:41 (IST)
Kerala bypolls: Voter brave downpour to reach polling booths
Heavy rains lashed several parts of Maharashtra and Kerala as polling began in the two states on Monday morning. Braving heavy downpour, early voters queued up at polling stations in the five assembly constituencies in Kerala to cast their franchise, say reports.
A total of 9.57 lakh voters are expected to participate in the bypolls being held in Vattiyoorkavu (Thiruvananthapuram), Aroor (Alapuzha), Konni (Pathnamthitta), Ernakulam and Manjeshwaram (Kasaragod).
10:32 (IST)
Bihar bypolls: Voter turn out by 10 am
Samastipur (Parliamentary) Lok Sabha seat in Bihar has recorded 11 percent voter turn out by 10 am on Monday.
Pushya Mitra/101Reporters
10:25 (IST)
Sikkim bypolls: Youngest candidate casts his vote in Poklok Kamrang constituency
Sikkim Democratic Front candidate Moses Rai, 27, who is the youngest candidate in the Sikkim bypolls, cast his vote at the Kamrang Secondary School under Poklok Kamrang constituency.
Input by Roshan Gupta/101Reporters
10:15 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Villages in Aligarh district boycott voting over lack of development work
About half a dozen villages in Iglas, Aligarh have boycotted the voting saying that there is no use of exercising the franchise as no development work has been done in their area despite making several requests to the administration and representatives.
Input by Yogesh Bharadwaj, 101Reporters
10:06 (IST)
Sikkim bypolls: Voter turn out by 9 am
Input by Roshan Gupta/101Reporters
09:55 (IST)
Chhattisgarh bypolls: Naxal-hit Chitrakot records 7.5% voter turn out so far
7.5 percent voting in dacoits affected Chitrakot is a sign that both Naxal and dacoits have been eliminated in area. People are no longer hesitate in coming out to vote in Chhattisgarh.
Input by Tanmay Baranwal, 101Reporters
09:49 (IST)
Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Average polling stands at 8.43 percent
Average polling percentage stand at 8.43 percent in Uttar Pradesh. No reports of violence, bogus voting, booth capturing reported so far.
Input by Saurabh Sharma, 101Reporters
UP Bypolls voter turnout by Natasha T. on Scribd
09:37 (IST)
PHOTO: Uttar Pradesh minister (independent charge) Mahendra Singh after casting his vote in Lucknow.
Photo by Indal Kashyap, 101Reporters
09:35 (IST)
PHOTO: Voters in queue at Poklok Kamrang constituency to exercise their voting rights in south Sikkim.
Photo by Roshan Gupta/101Reporters
09:23 (IST)
Chhattisgarh bypolls: Technical hold up force voters to return home without polling
EVMs at booth number 61 and 62 have developed snag since more than one and a half-hour in Chitrakoot. Voters have started to return.
Polling began at 8 am and will end at 5 pm, an election official said. A total of 229 polling booths have been set up for the by-poll in Bastar district and 16 in the neighbouring Sukma district, he said.
As many as 916 polling personnel have been deployed at these booths, he said, adding that around 70 booths have been categorised as 'hyper-sensitive' and 93 as 'sensitive'. As many as 1,67,911 people, including 79,284 men, 88,626 men and one from the third gender, are eligible to cast their votes, he added.
Input by Yogesh Bharadwaj, 101Reporters
09:20 (IST)
Chhattisgarh bypolls: Voters violate EC guidelines by posting selfies while polling
In violation of Election Commission guidelines, people have been seen posting selfies while exercising their franchise in Chitrakot constituency in Chhattisgarh.
Six candidates are in fray from the seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, where the by-election was necessitated after Congress MLA Deepak Baij got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bastar Parliamentary constituency.
Bura Yogesh Bharadwaj/ 101 Reporters
09:08 (IST)
UP bypolls: Polling delayed by more than an hour due to EVM snag
EVMs have developed tech snags at three booths in Rampur. Voting process has been halted for more than an hour.
Rampur seat has seen the heated war of words between BJP leader Jaya Prada and her Lok Sabha elections rival Azam Khan. Considered as a bastion of Samajwadi party and its senior leader Azam Khan, the seat got vacant after Khan elected to Lok Sabha from Rampur Parliamentary seat and now his wife Tanzim Fatima is SP candidate here in the bye-election.
Input by Shannu Khan, 101Reporters