New Delhi: After a high-stakes contest in the Lok Sabha polls, which saw the opposition making a strong comeback, the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA will face off on July 10 as bypolls are held in 13 Assembly constituencies across seven states, including four in West Bengal.
The Assembly seats up for bypolls are Rupauli in Bihar; Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagdah, and Maniktala in West Bengal; Vikravandi in Tamil Nadu; Amarwara in Madhya Pradesh; Badrinath and Manglaur in Uttarakhand; Jalandhar West in Punjab; and Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh.
These bypolls were necessitated by vacancies resulting from the deaths of incumbent MLAs and resignations from various parties.
The votes will be counted on July 13.
In three of the four Assembly constituencies going to polls in West Bengal, BJP MLAs had joined the ruling TMC and unsuccessfully contested the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. These constituencies are Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, and Bagdah.
Maniktala: This Assembly constituency which had long been a Congress turf, has seen the rise of TMC as the grand old party lost its strength. The Trinamool bastion fell vacant after the incumbent TMC leader Sadhan Pandey died on February 20, 2022. The TMC has fielded Sadhan Pandes wife Supti Pande for the upcoming bypoll.
The BJP has fielded Kalyan Chaubey, who had earlier filed a petition alleging irregularities in the 2021 Assembly polls, against her.
Raiganj: The BJP registered a win in the Raiganj seat, but MLA Krishna Kalyani defected to the TMC. He was fielded in the Lok Sabha polls from Raiganj but lost to BJP candidate Kartik Paul. The TMC has again fielded Krishna Kalyani for his former seat. The BJP has nominated local leader Manas Kumar Ghosh, while senior CPM leader Mohit Sengupta is the Left-Congress candidate.
Bagdah: The BJPs winning candidate, Biswajit Das, later returned to the TMC after winning the election. Das was fielded by the TMC in the Lok Sabha polls but was defeated by BJPs Shantanu Thakur in the Bongaon constituency.
The Matua community has a significant presence in Bagdah located in North 24 Parganas.
The TMC has nominated Madhuparna Thakur, daughter of TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur, as its candidate. The BJP has fielded Binay Kumar Biswas, a local leader also from the Matua community.
