Vote counting began on Wednesday for by-elections held in two Assembly constituencies in West Bengal and the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat in Assam, with early trends putting the BJP ahead in all three contests.
In West Bengal’s Rejinagar, the BJP candidate Sarkar was leading by around 48,000 votes. The AJSU-backed candidate Ghulam Nabi Azad was in second place with 13,600 votes, while Trinamool Congress candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury trailed in third with 2,516 votes. The seat went to polls after Humayun Kabir, who had earlier won it, resigned.
In Nandigram, the BJP’s Hasirani Rath was reported to be ahead by about 1.02 lakh votes. Congress candidate Milin Pradhan was second with 21,905 votes, and CPI candidate Shanti Gopal Giri had polled 3,951 votes. The by-poll was held after Suvendu Adhikari, who had won the seat, resigned.
In Assam’s Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election, BJP candidate Debasish Sharma was leading by about 96,000 votes over United Democratic Front candidate Badruddin Ajmal. Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora was placed third. Nagaon had been won by the Congress in the previous Lok Sabha election.
