The counting of votes for byelections has started. 48 assembly seats in 14 states—Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal—were up for by-election in recent weeks.
Two Lok Sabha seats, Wayanad in Kerala and Nanded in Maharashtra, were also up for election.
In Wayanad, which was previously represented by her brother Rahul Gandhi, Congresswoman Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut. Rahul Gandhi won both the Wayanad and Rae Bareli seats and chose to keep the latter, hence the Wayanad poll was required.
Rahul Gandhi has been actively supporting Priyanka Gandhi, his sister. “If she likes you, she will do whatever—beyond anything you can imagine,” he remarked at one of the election rallies. She will also be a big fan of Wayanad. You see, like the people and organization you work for is a big component of becoming a good MP. She will find it enjoyable.
With more than 6.12 lakh votes, Priyanka Gandhi is in the lead in Wayanad. Sathyan Mokeri of the Communist Party of India is in second place with more than 2.07 lakh votes, while Navya Haridas of the BJP is in third place with around 1.08 lakh votes.
Rahul Gandhi’s 2024 election record of 3.65 lakh votes was surpassed by Priyanka Gandhi, who won by a margin of more than 4 lakh votes. This is true even when fewer people are casting ballots.
About 65% of voters cast ballots in the Wayanad by-election, which was much less than the 80% turnout in the hill constituency during the 2019 general elections and a drop from the almost 74% turnout in the Lok Sabha elections conducted in April of this year.
As demonstrations in the RG Kar rape and murder case continue, the results of the by-elections for six assembly seats in West Bengal will be intriguing and a test for the ruling Trinamool Congress.
The TMC hopes to maintain the momentum set since 2021, having won nearly all assembly by-polls, except Sagardighi in February 2023.
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Source: NDTV
