By-elections to five vacant Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, along with the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in Assam, concluded on Monday amid keen political interest. Polling began at 7 am and ended at 6 pm, officials said.
In Tamil Nadu, the Election Commission had announced bypolls only for Madurantakam and Dharapuram, though several other Assembly seats in the state are currently vacant. The contests in the two constituencies saw a multi-cornered fight, with the ruling party and major opposition parties, besides other outfits, fielding candidates.
Campaigning was intense, with senior leaders from multiple parties taking part in rallies and roadshows. The ruling party’s candidates also faced pockets of local opposition, adding to the political buzz during the run-up to polling.
Despite voters turning up through the day, turnout was lower than in the previous Assembly general election. Madurantakam recorded 85.99% polling and Dharapuram 80.31%, compared with 93.3% and 89.9% respectively in April.
Across other bypoll constituencies, Puducherry’s Thattanchavadi recorded 80.8%, while West Bengal’s Nandigram and Rejinagar saw 80.67% and 79.85%. Assam’s Nagaon Lok Sabha seat recorded 76.17%. EVMs were moved under security to counting centres, and counting is scheduled for October 9.
